The Virginia Military Institute announced this week that it will refrain from removing Confederate monuments or rename buildings on its campus.
“We do not currently intend to remove any VMI statues or rename any VMI buildings,” retired Gen. J. H. Binford Peay III wrote in a seven-page letter to the school community. “Rather, in the future we will emphasize recognition of leaders from the Institute’s second century.”
Peay continued: “VMI’s early history was steeped in southern heritage, the Civil War, and the Battle of New Market. Our school’s history has been intertwined with the history of Virginia and the Civil War. Unlike many communities who are grappling with icons of the past, VMI has direct ties to many of the historical figures that are the subject of the current unrest. Stonewall Jackson was a professor at VMI, a West Point graduate who served in combat in the Mexican War, a military genius, a staunch Christian, and yes, a Confederate General. Throughout the years, the primary focus on honoring VMI’s history has been to celebrate principles of honor, integrity, character, courage, service, and selflessness of those associated with the Institute. It is not to in anyway condone racism, much less slavery.”
Peay mentioned that he has “reflected” on the situation after many “invaluable” conversations with others and reassured the school community that racism has no place on campus.
Efforts to topple, rename, remove, and deface Confederate statues across the country intensified following civil unrest in the wake of George Floyd’s death on May 25.
The vandalism was not solely aimed at symbols of the Confederacy but shifted to other areas of history as statues of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln, and an abolitionist who died fighting for the Union in the Civil War have also been torn down or removed.
