Wingate University, NC, acknowledges namesake

Wingate University is a private liberal arts college located in North Carolina. They have made action to set up a committee to determine the next steps after learning its namesake, Washington Manly Wingate, sold slaves a year before the Civil War. The committee is made up of faculty, staff, students, alumni, trustees, town officials. Their “next steps” are unclear if they will be changing the name of the school.

In a statement from the school’s President Rhett Brown; “It casts a shadow over our university, my alma mater, and is not in keeping with who we are today, what we value and how we strive to be more inclusive for the students who study here and the people who work here.”

The University continued in acknowledging the errors, stating; “Knowing that the stain of past transgressions can never be eliminated and that the debt to people of color can never be repaid, Wingate University officials do believe this deeply upsetting news can serve as an opportunity for reflection, reconciliation, and growth.”

Source: CNN