Memorial Hall (formerly known as Confederate Memorial Hall) is a historic building on the
Peabody College
Vanderbilt Peabody College of Education and Human Development (also known as Vanderbilt Peabody College, Peabody College, or simply Peabody) is the education school of Vanderbilt University, a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. ...
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
Campus protest or student protest is a form of student activism that takes the form of protest at university campuses. Such protests encompass a wide range of activities that indicate student dissatisfaction with a given political or academi ...
. 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.
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.
Edith D. Pope
Edith D. Pope (1869 – 1947) was an American editor. She was the second editor of the ''Confederate Veteran'' from 1914 to 1932, and the president of the Nashville No. 1 chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy from 1927 to 1930. She pl ...
, 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.
The construction of Confederate Memorial Hall was supported by a $50,000 donation from the UDC in 1933.
The total cost of construction was $140,000.
The building was completed in 1935.
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.
The building became part of Vanderbilt University campus in 1979 when the university acquired Peabody College.
By 1988, students were holding protests on campus, arguing the building's name was offensive to black students.
As a result, the university added a memorial plaque near the building to contextualize the origin of the name.
When
Gordon Gee
Elwood Gordon Gee (born February 2, 1944), known as E. Gordon Gee, is an American academic. As of 2020, he was serving his second term as President of West Virginia University; his first term was from 1981 to 1985. Gee has held more university pr ...
became Chancellor in 2002, he tried to change the name of the building.
However, the United Daughters of the Confederacy sued the university in the Davidson County Chancery Court.
The case went to the
Tennessee Supreme Court, and Judge
William C. Koch, Jr. sided with the UDC.
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.
When he suggested Vanderbilt University would have to repay the UDC for their $50,000 donation (adjusted to inflation), the university dropped the lawsuit.
However, the university used the name "Memorial Hall" in their publications.
In November 2015, students asked Chancellor
Nicholas Zeppos
Nicholas S. Zeppos (born 1955) is an American lawyer and university administrator. He was the eighth chancellor of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. On April 2, 2019, Zeppos announced that he would be stepping down from the positio ...
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".
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.
The UDC "reluctantly" accepted the donation.
Meanwhile, the university hid the word ''Confederate'' with a "temporary covering".
Alumnus
Clay Travis
Richard Clay Travis (born April 6, 1979) is an American writer, lawyer, radio host and television analyst. As a sports journalist, Travis founded ''OutKick''.
As a political commentator, he and Buck Sexton host ''The Clay Travis and Buck Sexto ...
, a
Fox Sports journalist, criticized his alma mater's decision to remove the word ''Confederate'', comparing them to "Middle Eastern terrorists".
In response,
Jack Daniel's canceled a $3,000 promotion deal it had with Travis.
See also
*
List of Confederate monuments and memorials
*
Removal of Confederate monuments and memorials
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Confederate Memorial Hall
Buildings and structures in Nashville, Tennessee
Confederate States of America monuments and memorials in Tennessee
Removed Confederate States of America monuments and memorials
School buildings completed in 1935
United Daughters of the Confederacy monuments and memorials
Vanderbilt University