The University of Illinois Chicago John Marshall Law School will change its name to the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law. The John Marshall Law School, formerly an independent law school that was established in 1899, merged with the University of Illinois Chicago in 2019 to create UIC John Marshall Law School. John Marshall served as Chief Justice of the United States from 1801 to 1835.
A university task force encharged with examining the life of John Marshall noted, “that despite Chief Justice Marshall’s legacy as one of the nation’s most significant U.S. Supreme Court justices, the newly discovered research regarding his role as a slave trader, slave owner of hundreds of slaves, pro-slavery jurisprudence, and racist views render him a highly inappropriate namesake for the law school.”
“The name of the school has changed, but it doesn’t erase its proud history or the impact of its faculty, alumni and students. As Chicago’s first and only public law school, our mission continues to center on academic excellence, diversity, student success, and bettering the lives of the people of Chicago and beyond,” said Darby Dickerson, dean of the law school.
Michael Amiridis, chancellor of the University of Illinois Chicago, added that “the university has arrived at this new name following a thorough and carefully studied process that included input from all corners of the institution and beyond, considered issues of racial injustice, and aimed to ensure that our university continues to be a place where diversity, inclusion and equal opportunity are supported and advanced,”
Here we go again elevating symbolism over substance. Are we going to vacate all the US Supreme Court decisions that John Marshall presided over? Are we going to vacate all US Supreme Court decisions that says its okay for an all White jury to sit on a trial in which a Black male defendant is accused? Most people probably did not even know who John Marshall was. That said, what are we going to do about Thomas Jefferson? What are we going to do about the so called founding fathers who drafted a constitution while they were slave owners, and did not grant citizenship or freedom to the slaves. Are going to manufacture a “diverse founding fathers” that include Arabs, Indians, Hispanics, Blacks and Whites? At some point this absurdity has to end. The foundation of America was built by White mostly Western Europeans, Native Americans, and Black African slaves. All others came after for economic benefits the nation has to offer. You cannot write them into the foundation because they were not in the country in its foundational years.
Pet Charles would have us believe that there is something profoundly wrong with removing the accolades and honors that for several hundred years have been bestowed on people like John Marshall. No such thing is true! Our finest tributes should be reserved for those who remain shining examples of what/who we aspire to be, not to those who are now seen to have engaged in crimes against humanity.
There should be more feedback! These racist ideas should be stomped out, I don’t care who the people are, slave owners did not have THE SLAVE INTEREST AT HEART!!!!!! Get them off the books, plus blacks were running the WORLD over 2000 years ago when WHITE CIVILATIONS were still LIVING in CAVES!!!