This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
There’s a new lesson developing for those who insist on a politically correct world.
According to a new report at RedState.com, the University of Richmond has “canceled” a figure who was the trustee of the school back in the 1800s.
Thomas C. Williams attended there in the 1940s and later became the trustee.
When he died, his family made a major donation to establish a law school, and when the school became the University of Richmond in 1920, it named the school the T.C. Williams School of Law.
However, school board members now have changed the name to the University of Richmond School of Law, with President Kevin Hallock explaining the school recognizes the “family” but, the report said, tax records show the donor’s tobacco business owned 25 to 40 slaves.
School policy now states, “No building, program, professorship, or other entity at the university should be named for a person who directly engaged in the trafficking and/or enslavement of others or openly advocated for the enslavement of people.”
Responding to the school was Williams’ great-great-grandson.
“If suddenly his name is not good enough for the university, then isn’t the proper ethical and, indeed, virtuous action to return the benefactor’s money with interest? … [I]s it not a form of fraud to induce money from a benefactor, and then discredit the benefactor after he is long dead? Surely the Williams family would not have given a penny to the university knowing that the university would later dishonor the family.”
Rob Williams, in fact, calculates the original donation, including interest, is now worth $51 million, without including “many other substantial gifts from my family…”
Further, he’s also asked the school, through 20 unreturned emails, for evidence of the slavery connection.
Finally, Rob Williams noted, “The university itself participated in slavery! Using your Orwellian logic, then shouldn’t the university have to change its name? … Using your T.C. Williams logic, then don’t you have to resign since you preside over a school that participated in slavery?”
