Calhoun was vice president of the United States in the early 1800’s and was a slavery supporter.

He was also a Democrat, a fact which was conveniently left out of this report from NBC News in Connecticut.

Petition Calls for Yale University to Remove Slavery Supporter’s Name From College

A petition is circulating to have Yale University change the name of one of its colleges because it is named after a supporter of slavery.

The petition posted on the Yale Alumni Magazine’s Facebook page comes in the wake of a shooting massacre at a Charleston, South Carolina church.

Calhoun College at Yale is named after John C. Calhoun, a former United States vice president under John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson, former secretary of state, former U.S. senator in South Carolina and former U.S. representative, according to the U.S. Department of State office of the historian. He graduated from Yale College in 1804 and went to Litchfield Law School after that, according to the U.S. historian’s office. He was controversial because of his support of slavery, according to office of the historian.

The petition addressed to the Yale administration states, “It is deeply upsetting that it has taken a tragedy such as the shooting in Charleston to initiate the removal of symbols of white supremacy from public spaces..”

“But public displays of the Confederate Flag throughout the South are finally in peril,” the petition states. “Multinational corporations such as Amazon, eBay, Sears, and Walmart have ceased selling merchandise featuring the flag. The Confederate flag, however, is not the only symbol of white supremacy to confront. The monumental task of eliminating the vestiges of racism must include all monuments and symbols dedicated to people and institutions that fought to preserve slavery and white supremacy.”

The petitioners request that Yale changes the name of Calhoun College because while he “was respected during his time as an extraordinary American statesman,” he also was “one of the most prolific defenders of slavery and white supremacy in American history.”