Related Link The Petition

Faculty members of the University of Mississippi History Department argue a plaque placed at the base of a Confederate monument on campus fails in its goal to provide contextualization.

Installed on March 17 as part of an ongoing university action plan to create a more inclusive environment, the plaque's text has become the source of contention amid university historians and activists due to the omission of references to slavery.

In a statement sent to The Clarion-Ledger, 33 history professors submitted a revision for the plaque recognizing slavery as "the central cause of the Civil War and freedom as its most important result." The text also mentions the oppression African-Americans suffered following the war in the forms of segregation and racial violence such as lynching.

Previously, the campus NAACP chapter had raised concerns about the lack of student input and the plaque's mention of James Meredith, the university's first admitted black student. Chancellor Jeffrey Vitter met with members of the organization and announced the advisory committee tasked with drafting the language of the plaque  would consider additional input to the recommended language.

After the April 8 deadline, members of the committee will then recommend either no change to the current language of the plaque or a specific revision based on received input. ...