https://news.berkeley.edu/2020/01/30/boalt-hall-denamed/
No question Boalt was a racist. Still, something about this type of “denaming” makes me uneasy. Aside from everything else, where do you draw the line? George Washington was a slave owner.
^^wasn’t Elihu Yale involved in the slave trade?
“^^wasn’t Elihu Yale involved in the slave trade?”
Yes he was. When my sister went to Yale, she resided in Calhoun College which, like Boalt, has been denamed.
I think it’s pretty easy to distinguish the Boalt situation from Washington. Washington was a general and the first President, whereas Boalt didn’t even attend or teach at the law school. The name was because of a donation made by his wife in his memory. The law school carried his name (at least on buildings) for over 100 years so I think she got her money’s worth.
The other distinction is that Boalt’s (and Calhoun’s) primary historical legacy is considered a negative one by many today (Boalt was mainly known for promoting the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, while Calhoun was known as one of the strongest defenders of slavery during his time in US politics from 1811 to 1850). Washington (and others like Jefferson) had more mixed historical legacies.
Arguably, Elihu Yale’s primary historical legacy (activities in India, including slave trading and profiteering against the policies of his employer (itself an institution of colonial exploitation)) and his name’s attachment to Yale University through a donation that helped build a building (as opposed to the entire school) is more analogous to Boalt or Calhoun rather than Washington, etc…