A group of University students gathered last night at an open forum in Clark Hall to discuss plans for a new memorial for enslaved laborers who helped build the University.
The event was planned by the Memorial for Enslaved Laborers Committee, which includes students from Student Council's Diversity Initiatives Committee, the Black Student Alliance, the Organization of African Students and the University's NAACP chapter.
The Memorial for Enslaved Laborers Committee aims to raise awareness of the role enslaved laborers played in the creation of the University by fostering discussion in the student body. Some members of the committee worry the University does not know enough about it to grant administrative approval for a new memorial.
Although a plaque currently exists on Grounds in recognition of the enslaved laborers' legacy, members of the committee believe a new memorial is necessary to fully appreciate their history.\nThe memorial is "a way to make more of a physical presence, give more of a physical representation of who came before and made the University what it is today," said Erica Washington, president of the NAACP at the University.
Assoc. History Prof. Claudrena Harold also spoke at the forum to encourage students to become involved in the Memorial for Enslaved Laborers initiative.
She stressed the importance of history as "the architecture of people's memory." She also noted that the nation ignores this history, however.
On a smaller scale, Washington said the University sometimes overlooks its own history.
"The University is very proud of our history, but some things are not discussed and slave labor is swept under the rug," she said.
The committee faces problems as it attempts to inform the University community of its initiatives. "As an organization we can't ... proudly tell the fact the University graduates the largest number of African-American students in the U.S. without recognizing the essential contribution of the first African-Americans engaged in this institution," said Lolan Sagoe-Moses, president of the Organization of African Students.
Sagoe-Moses hopes the memorial will serve as a representation of the enslaved men and women who built the University.
"This memorial brings us full circle," he said. "It connects our aspirations with the truth and reminds us every day that this is not just Thomas Jefferson's university because our forefathers were instrumental in crafting this university"
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