Writing the Declaration of Independence wasn’t enough to save Jefferson from being targeted by students.

Inside Higher Ed reports.

Thomas Jefferson is next target of students who question honors for figures who were racists

In the last week, Princeton University students who object to having Woodrow Wilson’s name on an academic unit and a residential college occupied the president’s office and left only when promised that the university would review its use of the Wilson name. The students pointed out that Wilson was a racist who, as president of the United States, had federal government agencies segregated, reversing progress toward civil rights for black people. Many observers have wondered which historical figure honored on American campuses would next capture critical attention.

The answer appears to be Thomas Jefferson. At both the University of Missouri at Columbia and the College of William & Mary, critics have been placing yellow sticky notes on Jefferson statues, labeling him — among other things — “rapist” and “racist.”


 
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