The University of Virginia recently acknowledged that in 1921, the president of the university accepted a pledge of $1,000 from the Ku Klux Klan. It is not known if the money was actually contributed to the university.
In a statement to the university community, Teresa A. Sullivan, president of the University of Virginia, stated that “we’re going to acknowledge the pledge, and we’re going do so in a way that would be as disagreeable as possible for any remnants of the KKK who may be watching.”
The $1,000 pledge would be worth $12,500 in today’s dollars when factoring for inflation. President Sullivan arranged for a private donation of $12,500 that will be used to pay medical expenses resulting from the race-related violence that occurred in Charlottesville in August.
President Sullivan said “we are allocating that century-old pledge from White supremacists to heal the wounds inflicted by the dying vestiges of White supremacy that struck Charlottesville last month. I hope any remaining members of the KKK will appreciate the irony.”
