Since everyone else is talking about Saunders Hall on the UNC Campus I figured I should at least put up a picture of it. I think I want to learn a little more about William Lawrence Saunders. I spent some time between reading property exams yesterday reading his address at Trinity College on North Carolina history. He was, perhaps, smart enough to keep the really offensive material out of that address. In that regard, he was smarter than many.
There are a couple of things I want to know about this before I would support renaming. First, I'd like to know more about Saunders' dark side; second, I'd like to know why he was honored with the building name in 1922, about thirty years after his death; third, I'd like to know who had a say in the naming. Until then, I'm sticking with my default position that I'm against renaming, not the least because renaming facilitates forgetting.
But, really, why are people giving Thomas Ruffin (after whom Ruffin Hall is named) such a pass? Not that I'm in favor of renaming Ruffin Hall. But I would have thought that a more likely target than Saunders Hall.
Let's give the name "Bridget Hall" to Ruffin, in honor of the slave (not his own) whom he beat with his cane for looking at him the wrong way about a year after deciding State v. Mann.
Posted by: Eric Muller | May 15, 2014 at 03:20 PM
IF we're going to rename Ruffin -- which I start out being opposed to, but I could perhaps be convinced -- then Bridget is a very good alternative. I'd also suggest we think about Lydia, who's the woman whose assault led to the State v. Mann opinion. I think there are few judicial opinions as important to understanding slavery (and rather oddly to its termination) as Mann.
Posted by: Alfred L. Brophy | May 15, 2014 at 05:37 PM
http://history.ncsu.edu/projects/cwnc/items/show/602
Posted by: anon | May 15, 2014 at 06:19 PM
Did the letter from Thomas Ruffin to Archibald Murphey, dated, October 29, 1831, relate to the incident involving Bridget referred to above?
Posted by: anon | May 15, 2014 at 09:06 PM