The students’ main focus of the campaign is creating a Wilson Caldwell Day to memorialize how Caldwell, who was born a slave in the household of the University’s second president, David Swain, assisted in the building of the University.
The class ended in fall 2016, but senior Anna Blackwell and the other students want others to understand the importance of Caldwell’s work.
“We decided, even though the class ended, to keep this project going ‘cause we thought it was very important to. So now we’re reaching out to the entire campus with our Wilson Caldwell day,” said Blackwell, a co-organizer of the project.
Junior and co-organizer Kristen Marion said Feb. 27 is an appropriate date for Wilson Caldwell Day because it is both the end of Black History Month and Caldwell’s birthday.
“Basically what we’re asking from the administration is a formal letter of acknowledgement and apology for the University’s role in the trans-Atlantic slave trade and then just their support in creating an annual day of memorialization for those enslaved workers,” Marion said.
During her time on campus, Marion said she has felt better when the University has acknowledged its racial history. She said part of creating the day is to open up the discussion to students.
“Now, yes, this is an African-American topic so primary attention will probably be given to those who are of African-American descent, but it is not at all a campaign that was just to be non-inclusive,” Marion said.
