Thomas Jefferson can’t catch a break— even on his birthday, and even at the school he founded.
Early Friday morning— the 275th anniversary of Jefferson’s birth— graffiti was discovered on a statue of the third president located on the University of Virginia lawn, according to a report from Charlottesville’s NBC affiliate.
Vandals spray-painted “Racist + Rapist” in red at the statue’s base “likely during the overnight hours,” reported NBC 29. UVA commemorates Jefferson’s birth annually as Founder’s Day.
Another campus statue of Jefferson was subject to protests earlier this school year, when students made it the center of a demonstration in September, one month after violent protests by white nationalists in Charlottesville. Signs used by protesters then included similar language on racism and rape. Jefferson statues have been vandalized on other campuses in recent years as well but, of course, it’s even harder to ignore at his own university, a place where his legacy is widely celebrated.
UVA released a statement on Friday saying it was “disappointed that individuals vandalized the statue of Thomas Jefferson on the Lawn on the day that we honor his contributions to our University and to our democracy.”
“The university recognizes the complexities of Thomas Jefferson’s legacy and continues to explore them fully and honestly,” the statement read, further noting the school “welcomes open and civil discourse on such important issues.”
“However,” the school continued, “acts of vandalism do not contribute to meaningful discussion.”
University police are investigating the graffiti, which is in the process of being removed.
