I enjoy open discussions like this thread..when reasonable discussions happen we can always learn. We are all products our our individual life experiences and bring those views to the discussion. We should learn from history and move to a better place.
You just can’t use today’s standards and apply to the past. My teachers used paddles to discipline students in a public school system in WV...every teacher had their own paddle..do we go back now and arrest all of those teachers for child abuse?
Again...Robert Byrd seems to be getting a pass in all of this but he was a racist in modern times...
Lets get the facts straight on Byrd. He was in fact a former member of the KKK.As a matter of fact he organized the chapter in his area, but the key word is FORMER. In fact Byrd admitted to it and is on record to apologizing for his beliefs. Not only did he apologize, but he went on to attempt to make amends for his past deeds. That is why the NAACP ranked him as one of the the top senators for supporting their issues.
Now I am sure some will say he changed for political reasons, maybe so. However, I prefer to not take the cynical or political approach and analyze the situation. My question is did Byrd really have to help minorities to advance his political career? After all he had been a State Senator for a state which was 98% white for over 40 some years, plus NOBODY was going to defeat him.
As to Jenkins, what do we know about him? He fought against the United States of America in an attempt to keep African-Americans in bondage. Seeing that Marshall has more than white students on it campus and WANTS to recruit more, it is probably a good idea to change the name.
At to our namesake John Marshall...... He was quite a confusing character..... He was in fact a slave owner, but believed slavery was a sin. In fact, he formed the American Colonization Society which purpose was to send blacks back to Africa. Not only did he do this, but he also represented slaves for free to win their freedom. Despite all of these actions he died still having several slaves.
My personal opinion on Marshall is the good outweighed the bad and we must take into account the times he lived in. Slavery was a huge part of our society, in particular Virginia. The fact he was willing to represent Slaves in that era, to me , is a big statement.