Some students at the University of Wisconsin are demanding a statue on campus of former President Abraham Lincoln be taken down.
Nalah McWhorter, the president of the Wisconsin Black Student Union said that just because Lincoln opposed slavery, doesn’t mean he supported equal rights for African Americans. (RELATED: Andrew Cuomo Defends Christopher Columbus Statue, Says It Represents ‘Italian-American Legacy’)
“He was very publicly anti-Black,” she said, according to Channel 3000. “Just because he was anti-slavery doesn’t mean he was pro-Black. He said a lot in his presidential campaigns. His fourth presidential campaign speech, he said that he believes there should be an inferior and superior, and he believes white people should be the superior race.”
University Chancellor Becky Blank said she believes the statue of Lincoln should remain on campus.
“The university continues to support the Abraham Lincoln statue on our campus. Like those of all presidents, Lincoln’s legacy is complex and contains actions which, 150 years later, appear flawed,” Blank said in a statement. “However, when the totality of his tenure is considered, Lincoln is widely acknowledged as one of our greatest presidents, having issued the Emancipation Proclamation, persuaded Congress to adopt the 13th Amendment ending slavery and perserved the Union during the Civil War.”
.@UWMadison Chancellor @beckyblank‘s statement on call to remove Pres. Lincoln statue on campus. She says the university believes “deeply in justice and equity for all people” & says they are in talks for Ho-Chunk land acknowledgement, but they think the statue should stay. pic.twitter.com/8vwXZTDSCX
— Amy Reid (@amyreidreports) June 25, 2020
Statues of historical figures have been targeted in some protests that have occurred over the past month, in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death. Some protesters have vowed to take down Washington DC’s Emancipation Memorial statue, which depicts Lincoln freeing a slave. Democratic Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and the Metropolitan Police Department have declined to state whether or not they will protect the statue.