Clemson University will remove the name of John C. Calhoun, a pro-slavery political leader and a former U.S. vice president, from its Honors College, in a move consistent with a nationwide outcry against racism since the death of George Floyd due to police brutality.
Calhoun Honors College, named so since 1982, will now be called Clemson University Honors College.
The university’s board will also request the South Carolina state legislature change the name of Tillman Hall to its old name, which is Main Building. Benjamin R. Tillman was governor of South Carolina (1890–94) and championed White supremacy. However, because of the state’s Heritage Act, changing the name of Tillman Hall will require a two-thirds vote from both chambers of the state legislature, said the Associated Press. Lawmakers have resisted such changes to Confederate monuments.
As for the decision to remove Calhoun’s name, it comes days after former Clemson football stars DeAndre Hopkins and Deshaun Watson threw their weight behind a petition from students, alumni, faculty and staff to rename the college.
“Clemson University still honors the name of slave owner John C. Calhoun on its buildings, signs, and in the name of its honors program,” tweeted Hopkins this week, adding that he’s “joining the voices of the students and faculty” who started the renaming petition. Watson followed with a similar tweet. Hopkins also said on social media that he doesn’t mention his college’s name before National Football League games because he “felt this oppressive figure” of Calhoun’s clouded his experience at Clemson.
In its statement, Clemson didn’t mention Floyd or the anti-racist protests that have rocked the nation since his death on May 25. The university said the renaming and other recommendations were made by a task force set up in 2018 to suggest “ways to enhance the quality and relevance of the honors college.”
Clemson did say, though, that the university’s history is associated with people whose ideas are antithetical to those of the institution.
