{"id":135707,"date":"2023-10-18T00:00:18","date_gmt":"2023-10-18T04:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thecollegefix.com\/?p=135707"},"modified":"2023-10-18T00:57:12","modified_gmt":"2023-10-18T04:57:12","slug":"wheaton-college-removes-presidents-name-from-library-after-racism-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thecollegefix.com\/wheaton-college-removes-presidents-name-from-library-after-racism-report\/","title":{"rendered":"Wheaton College removes president\u2019s name from library after racism report"},"content":{"rendered":"

Change divides grandchildren; one says he was ‘sinful saint’<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Wheaton College in Illinois removed the name of its third president, James Oliver Buswell, from its library this fall in response to a historical review of race report<\/a> at the Christian institution.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the report\u2019s recommendations, released in September, was to remove President Buswell\u2019s name from the library because it is proven, in his own words, that he prevented students from attending Wheaton simply because they were black,\u201d college spokesperson Joseph Moore told The College Fix<\/em>.<\/p>\n

A task force made the recommendation in the report based on \u201cthorough research\u201d of Wheaton\u2019s history, Moore said.<\/p>\n

He said the college removed the official signage of Buswell\u2019s name on the library after the report was published Sept. 14. However, Wheaton\u2019s website still mentions the Buswell name with the library, and Moore said he did not have a timeframe for its removal.<\/p>\n

The college does not plan to rename the facility, it will simply be called the Library, he said. The task force did not recommend any other building name changes, according to the report.<\/p>\n

Moore said the responses to Buswell\u2019s name removal have been positive overall, and people recognize the report of the college\u2019s race relations was conducted \u201cin service of Jesus Christ\u201d to benefit the Wheaton community.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were guided by Scripture, which calls us to treat others with dignity and charity,\u201d Moore said. \u201cWe believe it is God-honoring to learn from the past, lament mistakes that have hurt others, and then resolve to improve.\u201d<\/p>\n

In The Wheaton Record<\/em>, the college newspaper, 30 of Buswell\u2019s grandchildren and great-grandchildren sent a letter<\/a> to the editor earlier this year outlining their support for \u201cblack Wheaton students.\u201d<\/p>\n

The letter stated how they were \u201cgrieved\u201d about a 1939 correspondence<\/a> between Buswell and trustee Hugo Wurdak. In the letter, Buswell wrote to Wurdak about admitting students of color to Wheaton and advised that they attend Lincoln Institute instead, according to the report.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have no race prejudice in my heart,\u201d Buswell wrote at the time. \u201cHowever, I have felt that for a small Christian school where the social contacts are so close, it would be better to avoid coeducation of the races. I have advised colored students to go to Lincoln Institute, Lincoln Ridge, Kentucky\u2026 I am trying to avoid the issue while quietly advising colored applicants to go elsewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

Responding in the college newspaper, his grandchildren wrote: \u201cWhile we believe that Dr. Buswell did much which positively impacted the college in his tenure, we also recognize that he participated in a mindset and culture that has harmed so many Black people historically, and still does today. For that reason we who have signed this letter would like to express our support for Black students at Wheaton College today, and our sorrow and deep regret over the words and attitudes that were expressed in Dr. Buswell\u2019s letters from 1939.\u201d<\/p>\n

The letter continued with an apology from Buswell\u2019s descendants for \u201cthe pain caused by Dr. Buswell\u2019s words\u201d in the 1939 correspondence.<\/p>\n

Not all of Buswell\u2019s descendants feel the same way.<\/p>\n

In an opinion piece<\/a> in World<\/em>, Kathleen Buswell Nielson, a granddaughter of the former president, said she believes that it is important to recognize the \u201csinful saints\u201d of the past by \u201cthanking God for their leadership while telling their stories truly.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe should not, however, refuse to honor a godly leader from the past because of his or her sin,\u201d Nielson wrote. \u201cTo cancel such a leader is a denial of our fallenness: We inevitably become like that self-righteous Pharisee in the temple who loudly thanked God that he was not like other men. We too often engage in what C.S. Lewis called \u2018chronological snobbery,\u2019 assuming we are better than previous generations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nielson said the college canceling his name dishonors a \u201csinful saint\u201d and denies \u201cGod\u2019s gracious blessing on their heritage faith.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mary Grabar, founder of Dissident Prof Education Project, also opposed the change.<\/p>\n

Grabar told The College Fix<\/em> it reminded her of totalitarian efforts to \u201cun-person\u201d those who do not conform all the way to the reigning ideology of the moment.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn this case, sadly, the standard against which Oliver Buswell fails is a \u2018woke\u2019 version of Christianity,\u201d Grabar said.<\/p>\n

Grabar also mentioned how the report cost the college resources that could have been used to serve current students at the university and removed his name without understanding the circumstances at the time in which Buswell lived.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe task force members should hope that future generations are not as unfair to them in judgment,\u201d Grabar said.<\/p>\n

MORE: Canceled: Washington & Lee University removes plaque honoring Robert E. Lee\u2019s horse<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

IMAGE: The College Fix, Google maps<\/em><\/p>\n

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