Huh. Did You Know That? UT's KKK Connection on Campus
June 3rd 2010 17:09
I was just surfing the InterWebz for something new to post on the blog before the next OOC piece, and then I stumbled upon this little number. I found it quite interesting and thought you would as well.
It seems the history surrounding one of the dormitories on the University of Texas is a bit more sad than I'm sure Longhorn Nation would prefer. According to this article on Examiner.com, Simkins Residence Hall is named after a leader in the Ku Klux Klan.
UT named the Hall after William Stewart Simkins in 1954. Simkins had taught law at the school for 30 years. Now dead for 80 years, Simkins was outed by this legal studies research paper published in March of this year on the website of the Social Science Research Network.
I quote from it saying:
"The second narrative is the story of William Stewart Simkins, a law professor at The University of Texas from 1899 to 1929. Professor Simkins helped to organize the Ku Klux Klan in Florida at the conclusion of the American Civil War, and he advocated his Klan past to Texas students."
"The sources for the paper are drawn largely from primary materials of the university’s archives, including the papers of the university’s Board of Regents, Chancellor, President, and faculty committees. The author completed this research during the 1990s while a member of The University of Texas School of Law faculty."
The study was written by a former UT law professor, and he also wrote a May 10th editorial in the campus newspaper to remove the name, and UT students are calling for the same.
Only time will tell what happens from here. Thoughts?
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