by Rafael Oliveira
The University of Richmond recently removed the name of T.C. Williams, an early benefactor, from its law school because of his alleged ownership of slaves in the 19th century.
But his descendants say Williams contributed to the demise of slavery and now argue the university should refund Williams’ previously donated money to the institution.
“If suddenly his name is not good enough for the University, then isn’t the proper ethical and indeed virtuous action to return the benefactor’s money with interest? At a 6% compounded interest over 132 years, T.C. Williams gift to the law school alone is now valued at over $51 million, and this does not include many other substantial gifts from my family to the University,” Rob Smith, Williams’ great-great-grandson, said in a letter to President Kevin Hallock.
“Moreover, is it not a form of fraud to induce money from a benefactor, and then discredit the benefactor after he is long dead? Surely, the Williams family would not have given a penny to the University knowing that the University would later dishonor the family. The ethical and virtuous decision is clear. Return the money.”
Thomas C. Williams attended Richmond College from 1846 to 1849 and was a trustee in the 1880s, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported.
“After his death, his family made a gift to UR that helped establish the law school. When Richmond College became the University of Richmond in 1920, it began referring to the law school as the T.C. Williams School of Law,” the newspaper reported.
Smith, in an email this month to The College Fix, said “We have sent [President Kevin] Hallock 20 emails asking for the evidence that the university used to state that T.C. Williams had a connection to slavery and how these documents were compiled, and he has refused to give us this information and has refused to discuss these issues with us.”
In a statement provided Tuesday to The College Fix, spokesperson Cynthia Price said the University of Richmond board voted unanimously in the fall of 2022 “to change the official name of the law school from the T.C. Williams School of Law to the University of Richmond School of Law.”
“The law school has been referred to as the University of Richmond School of Law for more than 20 years,” Price said.
She did not address the controversy in her statement to The Fix.
The University of Richmond reserves the right to remove the name of a person who directly engaged in the trafficking or enslavement of others or someone who openly advocated for the enslavement of people, according to its naming guidelines.
Hallock, in a September 2022 email to the university community, stated that “Recently located government records dating from 1857 to 1863, and a newspaper notice from 1864, document Williams’s involvement in enslavement as an individual and through businesses in which he had direct ownership and an active management role.”
“… Personal property tax records from several Virginia localities that show Williams’s businesses being taxed on 25 to 40 enslaved persons in those years,” he wrote.
Williams’ family deny any malicious intent between their ancestor and the institution of slavery.
“The university has basically refused to discuss these issues with us,” Smith told The Fix. “We have not pressed them on returning the money, but we keep finding out about new gifts that the Williams family gave them.”
President Hallock acknowledged in his email that “some may be disappointed or disagree with this decision. We also recognize the role the Williams family has played here and respect the full and complete history of the institution. Consistent with Principle 9 of the Naming Principles, we will preserve and make accessible a full historical record.”
However, the university has not allowed Smith or his brothers to defend Williams before the Board of Trustees, or provided the grounds for Williams’ wrongdoings, the family reported.
Williams’ family also contends that the decision to remove Williams’ name is based on erroneous grounds.
“Despite the university’s naming ‘principles’ requiring transparency and the promise of creating a complete and objective record, I contend that a complete and objective record could not possibly end in the de-naming of my great great grandfather,” Walter Smith, another of Williams’ descendants and a UVA alumnus, said in an email to The Fix. “We want our day in ‘court’— an appearance before the Board.”
Smith said Williams actually helped slaves rather than oppressed them.
“Perhaps true academics could recognize that the achievements of people like T.C. Williams contributed to the demise of slavery and created a bold economic and social order that gave men the opportunity to make a living for themselves and the human dignity derived from such efforts?” he wrote in his letter to President Hallock
“Against all odds, T.C. Williams amassed a great fortune,” Smith continued. “He may have been the wealthiest man in Virginia at his death. And what did he do with his wealth? He hired thousands of workers, many were blacks and women. Productive work and industry is the only thing that lifts people out of poverty. The Williams family gave away all of their immense wealth, most of it was anonymous and there were substantial inter-vivos gifts. Many Richmond institutions are the result of their goodwill and generosity.”
Stu Smith, another member of the Williams family, compared the assessment of Williams to incidents where local municipalities “cancel” historical figures for their mistakes, which he thinks are not to be compared with their achievements for good.
“We are seeing the local school board finding people like George Wythe to be a problematic person to name a school after because he owned slaves,” Stu Smith told The College Fix via email. “In his own life, his thoughts on slavery changed and he was probably the most progressive Founding Father. He emancipated all his slaves at the end of the American Revolution. The nuance on this is lost on many modern people. No metric is good enough, even the slightest taint of slavery makes someone radioactive.”
“If American Society can not find a way to integrate the shameful aspects of our own history then we are not long for this world as a nation,” he added. “We don’t need to romanticize our history, but canceling historical figures isn’t the answer. The answer is Nuance! The answer is accepting that humanity is capable of great evil and great good. We are imperfect.”
In Rob Smith’s letter to Hollack he also pointed out the hypocrisy of the institution.
“The University itself participated in slavery! Using your Orwellian logic, then shouldn’t the University have to change its name? … Using your T.C. Williams logic, then don’t you have to resign since you preside over a school that participated in slavery,” Smith wrote.
“Since all history has to be erased, perhaps you can eliminate the history department and use the money to buy therapy dogs, cupcakes and cotton candy for all those poor souls triggered by facts. Then again, you could use the money to bolster your Campus Ministry of Truth and just eliminate facts. After all, facts are bad, they make snowflakes cry.”
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College Fix contributor Rafael Oliveira is a student at The King’s College studying politics, philosophy and economics. His work has also appeared in the Empire State Tribune and Empire State Magazine.
Photo “T.C. Williams School of Law” by University of Richmond School of Law.
Revisionist history. Slavery is one of mankind’s great sins. But we do not inherit the sins of our ancestors.
But few of us, if any,, do not have both slave owners and slaves among our ancestors. Rome was built using slave labor, serfdom (a form of slavery) was a way of life during the middle ages to, and during, the industrial revolution. Slave capture and marketing was a respected vocation from the Vikings, to the Africans to the Arabians, to the Native Americans. The Spanish and Portuguese enslaved Native Middle and South Americans. Nothing can be gained by seeking revenge against the living for the sins of their ancestors. We abolished the inheritance of debt when this county was formed. Christians and Jews have long abolished the inheritance of sin, instead we forgive sins. We need to put the past behind us, and concentrate on the sex slavery presently occurring.
Since the grandchildren have donated in one way or another, than use one of their names. I know one thing, the college I went to pulled something like this years ago before I even had a job. Now I am wonderfully retired and can leave a lot to whomever or whatever I want. My kids have already had their distribution. When I was in school, the people in charge pulled something against people attending a Church down the street instead of within the college I disagreed with. Freedom to donate or not donate is just that, freedom for the donator. When I get requests for donation from my college, the papers go in the basket because I have not forgotten what they pulled against kids I didn’t even know. Where the kids went to Church and donated to that Church was their right and business not the colleges. Forcing something on people has consequences in the future like my college has found out. Those kids attending the university currently hopefully will keep in mind that slaves in those days have great grand children living better here than if they would be in Africa right now with the Muslims taking over territory and killing and raping Christians. The Civil War in Africa will only end in Muslim control and great grand children dead if they would be in Africa right now. Further it was the rulers of African tribes that enslaved their young men and women and sent them to America. We had a Civil War of whites dying to free blacks. Perhaps this university guy needs to be sued and fired for the embarrassment he is bringing on this university. After all the name they want to kill freed his slaves and helped them to make it in freedom which for someone never been free has to learn how to survive in freedom, it costs money, etc which the name on the university understood and helped the slaves out. Fire that guy in charge of the university as he is not thinking about the future of the university just the fact he wants to order something be done because he has the power to demand, or he thinks so for now.
Rob Smith for President!!!
Meanwhile, for any University of Richmond alums who are still making contributions to their alma mater…STOP!!! RIGHT NOW!!!
Wow! Fascism at its strongest! Some guy named, Adolph, reminded us that members of a certain religion were responsible for a crucifixion long ago. He suggested killing all of the descendants.
Well put! It’s interesting how the woke crowd picks and chooses what they consider to be harmful – while all time they are causing all manner of harm to our once but now very sad “educational” system! Thank you for challenging their flawed ideas.
Amen for acknowledging that the article hit exactly on what is so wrong in our country today.We must wake up before we are destroyed from within.I am going to be 90 next week so may not live to see us go under; however, I am concerned for my grandchildren and one great grandson.
Just more lib trash being the trash they are……and education failure.
Heads up, America! “Woke” institutions are becoming more arbitrary and arrogant all the time, and here they’re recklessness is impacting more than just the little guy. Point: EVERYBODY lies in the path of this caprice! Richmond U is an outrage—how long ’till it’s the “new norm?” Alumni need to wise up: stop feeding the monsters that are raping you! Education in America needs an enema!
Under this philosophy – Wouldn’t it be sensible to force all Americans to do a mandatory genealogy so that all of one’s heritage is exposed and all offspring would be liable for any and all faults of their predecessors? Wonder what would be said about the chancellor?
I agree with the relatives of Mr. T C Williams! The history of the United States is being re-written by well-organized, well-funded liberals, misfits, and perverts who have been thoroughly mis-educated to hate America, its Constitution, and its originators. And they are being used to create chaos, which only a socialist government will be able to solve! The removal of T C Williams name is just one among thousands of examples.
The college should return the money as requested by the family or shut up and take care of business and leave the names alone.
And this is why the city of Richmond and its associated names will be second rate. Here you are dehumanizing a man who can’t defend himself because it doesn’t fit your narrative of now.that is why I have stopped giving because who is to say down the road that my gifts are unexceptable and that I owe taxes on the money I deducted from my taxes that I paid..in other words I’ll ask who is fooling who?
I am not certain how things were structured 132 years ago. In the last half a century, the donation would literally be BUYING his name on the law school. As such, removing his name would constitute a breach of contract. The remedy would to a full return of the gift, or giving the law school to the family. The later isn’t practical by any standard.
I absolutely agree with the family. You cannot erase history whether good or bad. That`s how people learn about life.
The Robinette side of bidens family were huge slave owners.
These so calleD. Colleges have become a total disgrace and the mans name should remain. iF NOT NOT THESE IGNORANT PIECES OF WOKE FILTH SHOULD PAY BACK EVERY PENNT AND MORE FOR BEING SO ARROGANT AND IGNORANT.