University Puts Off Decision on Renaming Residence Hall Honoring a White Supremacist

Charles_Brantley_AycockAfter two and half hours of debate, the board of trustees at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina, tabled a motion to change the name of Aycock Residence Hall on campus. The building, which opened in 1960, was named after Charles B. Aycock, a former governor of North Carolina, who was a strong supporter of White supremacy. The board will reconsider the motion in February.

“There are strong feelings on both sides of this issue, as reflected by the board’s own discussion,” board of trustees chair Robert Brinkley said. “There are many levels of concerns and the feeling of the majority was that we should take sufficient time for the views and concerns to be duly considered. We want to address this issue in a responsive manner, and believe more time is needed to do so.”

Aycock served as governor of North Carolina from 1901 to 1905. While Governor Aycock was a strong advocate for public education, he also was a staunch segregationist and led efforts to disenfranchise Black voters in the state.

In June 2014, Duke University renamed a building on its campus that had honored Aycock. At that time Duke University President Richard H. Brodhead said that “after careful consideration, we believe it is no longer appropriate to honor a figure who played so active a role in the history that counters the values of inclusion and nondiscrimination that are key parts of the university’s mission.”

Related Articles

1 COMMENT

  1. If one applied this standard across the country at the overwhelmingly majority of Historically White Colleges and Universities (HWCUs), highways, streets, bridges, airports, parks, holiday’s, along with the incessant statues, they would be demolishing structures for a long time. Let’s not forget about the MNCs from Heinz, Duke, Morgan, Ford, Koch, Nestle, Del Monte, Dole, Goodyear, Firestone, Exxon, BP, Apple, Dell, Microsoft, Goldman Sachs, Busch, Dupont, etc…. who have historically and currently exploit people fiscally, physically, and psychologically.

Leave a Reply

Get the JBHE Weekly Bulletin

Receive our weekly email newsletter delivered to your inbox

Latest News

University of Maryland Reports on Its Historic Ties to Slavery

"This new research report is an important first step in confronting and disrupting the narrative of our shared history. It challenges us to see through the privileged half-truths we’ve long held as a university and to create a more inclusive and truthful documented history," said Lae’l Hughes-Watkins, co-chair of The 1856 Project.

Yale University Commits $10 million Toward HBCU Partnerships

Yale University issued a formal apology three weeks ago regarding its historical ties to slavery. In response, the university has pledged $10 million towards an initiative that aims to expand collaboration with historically Black colleges and universities.

Gallup Survey Finds Black Students More Likely Than Their White Peers to Withdraw From College

A 2023 survey conducted by Gallup in partnership with the Lumina Foundation has found that 40 percent of currently enrolled Black students have considered stopping their coursework in the past six months, compared to 31 percent of White students.

Recent Books of Interest to African American Scholars

The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education regularly publishes a list of new books that may be of interest to our readers. The books included are on a wide variety of subjects and present many different points of view.

Featured Jobs