Princeton U. Will Not Remove Statue Of Founding Father With Ties To Slavery

PRINCETON, NJ – Princeton University will not be removing the statue of founding father John Witherspoon from campus, the Board of Trustees said.

The 10-foot-tall cast bronze statue sits atop a 7-foot pedestal in front of East Pyne Hall on campus.

The decision was made after a petition from students and faculty said that honoring someone with ties to slavery was a “distraction.”

“...We do not believe that questions about John Witherspoon’s legacy provide sufficient ground for removal or relocation of the statue. The principles endorsed by this Board include a presumption against altering University honorifics on the basis of concerns about a historical individual’s legacy. We believe that this presumption is applicable to the current case,” the Board said in a statement.

“That does not mean the statue should or must remain in its current state or location.”

The Board said that Princeton’s Campus Art Steering Committee can decide when and where to move the statue.

The Council of the Princeton University Community (CPUC) Committee on Naming previously found that John Witherspoon is worthy of recognition, but not canonization,” and it recommended that the University furnish viewers of the statue with information that would “reduce the glorification of Witherspoon by offering a more complex and accurate history” than the partial account currently provided on the statue’s plinth.

Witherspoon’s name was removed from Princeton School District’s middle school after concerns were raised about his active participation in slavery.

Witherspoon is Princeton’s sixth president and he signed the Declaration of Independence.

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