Duke removes statue of Robert E. Lee from chapel, creates commission to help 'navigate the role of memory'

Brett T. | 8:53 PM on August 19, 2017

A statue of Robert E. Lee at the entrance to Duke Chapel was vandalized sometime Wednesday night, and Duke University President Vincent E. Price sent an email Saturday alerting the community that the statue would be removed permanently, though it would be preserved for study purposes.

Duke removes Robert E. Lee statue from @DukeChapel entrance. Read more: https://t.co/pLCeU5Aihs

— Duke University (@DukeU) August 19, 2017

Price wrote that he made the decision “to ensure the vital safety of students and community members” as well as to “express the deep and abiding values of our university.”

The best part: Price is creating a commission to:

… advise on next steps and to assist us in navigating the role of memory and history at Duke. The commission will look at how we memorialize individuals on the Duke campus in buildings and sculpture and recommend principles drawn from Duke’s core values to guide us when questions arise. I will ask this commission to work expeditiously.

Does anyone else in Durham (or Baltimore) have a problem with statues being toppled by communists or being removed by work crews in the dead of night? Angry mobs are a fine tradition, but have people just lost their ability to convince with words? Or is vandalism the only language they speak fluidly?

This is what leadership looks like. https://t.co/e4ztP5lxcu

— Tracy Henderson Bethel (@TracyDHBethel) August 19, 2017

Yes, this is what leadership looks like in 2017. Remove a Confederate statue after it’s been vandalized during a nationwide frenzy over white supremacy, and then create a commission to study the removal of anything else that might be hurtful before it too is vandalized. Way to get out in front of the issue.