The debate over Woodrow Wilson's name remaining at Princeton University will continue, as it should.
The student organization behind peaceful protests last November at Princeton University -- calling for the university to remove the name of Woodrow Wilson from one of its most high-visibility units, among other demands -- is justifiably disappointed this week.
The university announced Monday that the School of Public Policy and International Affairs will retain the name of the former New Jersey governor and United States president, despite well-documented assertions by the Black Justice League that Wilson steadfastly supported racist policies.
Among other actions, he allowed his cabinet to re-segregate federal government agencies, rolling back hard-earned gains by black middle-class professionals. Earlier, as president of Princeton, he played a large role in blocking black students from attending the Ivy League school.
After a 32-hour sit-in in the office of Princeton President Christopher L. Eisgruber last fall, the students agreed to a deal that included the formation of a committee, comprised of members of the board of trustees, to examine their demands.
Princeton hires diversity dean
The committee members said this week that while they agree that Wilson held objectionable values, the name would stay, arguing that in spite of his racism, Wilson brought favorable and productive change to Princeton during his tenure in the early 1900s.
"Princeton must openly and candidly recognize that Wilson, like other historical figures, leaves behind a complex legacy of both positive and negative repercussions," their report says.
At the same time, the university pledged to increase the number of minority students enrolled in its doctoral programs, and to work to ensure that symbols and artwork on the sprawling campus better reflect a culturally diverse population.
It also announced that LaTanya Buck will join the faculty this summer as the school's first dean for diversity and inclusion.
Despite their set-back over the name, the protesters are to be commended for shining a light on the unrepentant Wilson and his corrosive brand of state-sanctioned racism -- especially today, when the nation he left behind is still struggling with its legacy.
Princeton to keep Woodrow Wilson's name
While apologists point to the prevailing ethos of Wilson's time, and note that many of America's Founding Fathers were slaveholders, the glorification of his name at one of the country's foremost institutions of higher learning leaves a bad taste in the mouth.
"Princeton remains unable to even reckon and wrestle with its white supremacist foundations and its ongoing role in perpetuating racism," the Black Justice League wrote in an online reaction to Monday's announcement.
We have a hunch the conversation at Princeton is not over, nor should it be.
If the name in front of the stately building that houses the Woodrow Wilson School of Public Policy and International Affairs continues to drive the debate forward, the black students' activism will have served a vital purpose.