Memorial Hall, Vanderbilt University

Memorial Hall (formerly known as Confederate Memorial Hall) is a historic building on the Peabody College campus of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. It was built in 1935 as a dormitory hall for female descendants of Confederate States Army veterans. Its former name resulted in multiple lawsuits and student unrest. In August 2016, Vanderbilt announced it would reimburse the United Daughters of the Confederacy for their financial contribution and remove the word Confederate from the building.

This article is about the dormitory hall at Vanderbilt University. For the museum in New Orleans, Louisiana, see Confederate Memorial Hall.
Memorial Hall
Confederate Memorial Hall
Memorial Hall in 2007 (then known as Confederate Memorial Hall)
General information
Town or cityNashville
CountryUnited States
Completed1935
OwnerVanderbilt University
Design and construction
Architect(s)Henry C. Hibbs

History

The project was initiated by the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) as early as the mid-1890s and was supported by Peabody College president James D. Porter, a Confederate veteran and former Tennessee governor, in 1902.[1] Edith D. Pope, the second editor of the Confederate Veteran and a leading member of the Nashville No. 1 chapter of the UDC, played a key role in its construction. In addition, Pope and other members of the UDC made sure the college would offer a course on Southern history.[1]

The construction of Confederate Memorial Hall was supported by a $50,000 donation from the UDC in 1933.[2][3] The total cost of construction was $140,000.[4] The building was completed in 1935.[5] It was used as a residential building by female descendants of Confederate veterans who were selected by the UDC to live free of charge while they studied education.[5][2]

Memorial Hall in 2006

The building became part of Vanderbilt University campus in 1979 when the university acquired Peabody College.[3] By 1988, students were holding protests on campus, arguing the building's name was offensive to black students.[5] As a result, the university added a memorial plaque near the building to contextualize the origin of the name.[5][3]

When Gordon Gee became Chancellor in 2002, he tried to change the name of the building.[2] However, the United Daughters of the Confederacy sued the university in the Davidson County Chancery Court.[2][6] The case went to the Tennessee Supreme Court, and Judge William C. Koch, Jr. sided with the UDC.[2] By 2005, Judge William B. Cain of the Tennessee Court of Appeals concluded that the word Confederate was not about slavery, but about the fallen soldiers of the Confederate States Army, who defended their land against Northern invaders.[3][7] When he suggested Vanderbilt University would have to repay the UDC for their $50,000 donation (adjusted to inflation), the university dropped the lawsuit.[3] However, the university used the name "Memorial Hall" in their publications.[3]

In November 2015, students asked Chancellor Nicholas Zeppos to change the name on the building, arguing that "Vanderbilt refuses to pay $1 million to the Daughters of the Confederacy to divorce this university from its 'racist' past but raised $10 million to renovate campus baseball facilities".[8]

On August 15, 2016, the university announced it would remove the word Confederate from the building after receiving an anonymous donation of $1.2 million to repay the United Daughters of the Confederacy.[9][10] The UDC "reluctantly" accepted the donation.[11] Meanwhile, the university hid the word Confederate with a "temporary covering".[11]

Alumnus Clay Travis, a Fox Sports journalist, criticized his alma mater's decision to remove the word Confederate, comparing them to "Middle Eastern terrorists".[12] In response, Jack Daniel's canceled a $3,000 promotion deal it had with Travis.[12]

See also

References
  1. Simpson, John A. (2003). Edith D. Pope and Her Nashville Friends: Guardians of the Lost Cause in the Confederate Veteran. Knoxville, Tennessee: University of Tennessee Press. pp. 98–106. ISBN 9781572332119. OCLC 750779185.
  2. Brophy, Alfred L. (Fall 2006). "Confederate Memory and Monuments: Of Judicial Opinions, Statutes and Buildings". Journal of International Affairs. 60 (1): 134–136. JSTOR 24358016.
  3. Jaschik, Scott (May 5, 2005). "Confederates Defeat Vanderbilt: Appeals court says university must pay -- if it wants to change controversial name of a dormitory". Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved November 21, 2015.
  4. "Reports at 40th UDC Convention". The Kingsport Times. Kingsport, Tennessee. October 10, 1935. p. 6. Retrieved September 27, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. "Ranking America's Leading Liberal Art Colleges on Their Success in Integrating African Americans". The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education (8): 86. Winter 2002. doi:10.2307/3134213. JSTOR 3134213.
  6. "Vanderbilt Sued Over Hall's Name Change". The Washington Post. October 18, 2002. Retrieved November 21, 2015.
  7. Brophy, Alfred L. (2006). Reparations : Pro and Con. New York City: Oxford University Press. p. 15. ISBN 019530408X. OCLC 62755581.
  8. Woods, Jeff (November 17, 2015). "Vandy's Black Students Put Zeppos On the Spot". Nashville Scene. Retrieved November 21, 2015.
  9. Tamburin, Adam (August 15, 2016). "Vanderbilt to remove 'Confederate' from building name". The Tennessean. Retrieved August 15, 2016. Anonymous donors recently gave the university the $1.2 million needed for that purpose; the Vanderbilt Board of Trust authorized the move this summer.
  10. Koren, Marina (August 15, 2016). "The College Dorm and the Confederacy". The Atlantic. Retrieved August 15, 2016. Vanderbilt will return $1.2 million to the Tennessee chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, the present value of the $50,000 the group donated to the school in 1933 for the construction of the dorm. [...] The $1.2 million payment will come from anonymous donors who gave specifically for the removal of the inscription, the school said.
  11. Tamburin, Adam (August 16, 2016). "Daughters of the Confederacy reluctantly accepts Vanderbilt deal". The Tennessean. Retrieved August 19, 2016.
  12. Tamburin, Adam (August 17, 2016). "Jack Daniel's nixes Clay Travis deal over 'Confederate' controversy". The Tennessean. Retrieved August 18, 2016.

36.1407°N 86.7978°W / 36.1407; -86.7978

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