Worker Smashes Racist Panel - Loses Job

[Chemisse]

An African-American dishwasher lost his job after losing his cool and breaking a stained-glass panel in Yale’s Calhoun residential college dining hall that depicted slaves carrying bales of cotton.

The dishwasher, Corey Menafee, said he used a broomstick to knock the panel to the floor. He said he was tired of looking at the “racist, very degrading” image.

City police arrested Menafee, who now faces a felony charge. The university, meanwhile, has cut ties with him. (It was not officially clear Monday afternoon how exactly that happened.) (UPDATE - the charges were dropped, and he is now said to have 'resigned').

His actions provide the latest chapter in a contentious debate over the racially charged symbolism of the college, named for slavery advocate and former U.S. Vice-President John C. Calhoun. The debate gathered steam last summer with a petition demanding a name change, and has since grown to encompass the slavery-themed paintings, artifacts, and stained-glass tiles displayed in the college. In April, Yale President Peter Salovey announced that Yale will keep the Calhoun name despite a year-long campaign by students and faculty calling for it to be changed.

“I took a broomstick, and it was kind of high, and I climbed up and reached up and broke it,” he said. “It’s 2016, I shouldn’t have to come to work and see things like that.”


http://www.newhavenindependent.org/corey_menafee/

[rjsquirrel]

1. This is a gofundme I would support! Eom

Interesting to note Yale is not pressing charges and not seeking restitution.

They know which way the wind is blowing.

[rug]

2. If Calhoun were alive, the man would have been whipped.

[brush]

3. With such a provocative statement, you should explain your position . . .

so we know if you're for or against said whippings that you introduced into the conversation.

[Hoppy]

6. Do you really need an explanation?

[brush]

9. Well, yeah.

Trolls do come here.

[AntiBank]

18. pffft. a 12 year 75,000 post troll???

but you knew that

[brush]

22. No. I didn't look at the post count.

[AntiBank]

26. live and learn

[rug]

7. Read this.

Whipping was done at these markets, or trader's yards, all the time. People who lived in the city of Richmond would send their slaves here for punishment. When any one wanted a slave whipped he would send a note to that effect with the servant to the trader. Any petty offense on the part of a slavewas sufficient to subject the offender to this brutal treatment. Owners who affected culture and refinement preferred to send a servant to the yard for punishment to inflicting it themselves. It saved them trouble, they said, and possibly a slight wear and tear of feeling. For this service the owner was charged a certain sum for each slave, and the earnings of the traders from this source formed a very large part of the profits of his business. The yard I was in had a regular whipping post to which they tied the slave, and gave him "nine-and-thirty," as it was called, meaning thirty-nine lashes as hard as they could lay it on. Men were stripped of their shirts in preparation for the whipping, and women had to take off their dresses from the shoulders to the waist. These whippings were not so severe as when the slaves were stripped entirely of their clothes, as was generally the case on the plantations where slaves were owned by the dozen. I saw many cases of whipping while I was in the yard. Sometimes I was so frightened that I trembled violently, for I had never seen anything like it before.

http://docsouth.unc.edu/fpn/hughes/hughes.html

Now figure it out yourself.

[brush]

11. Of course I know about slaves being whipped. The post didn't make it clear whether the poster . . .

was for or against the whippings.

Trolls do come here.

[Demit]

17. A statement of fact doesn't require editorializing.

Especially such an uncontroversial one.

Plus, you seriously think that someone who's been on DU for 12 years, having made 75K posts, is a troll? That's a little wacked.

[brush]

24. Didn't look at the post count and not famiiar with the poster

[malaise]

19. rug has never ever been a troll

Please

[pinboy3niner]

21. rug has always been for civil rights but how do we know he didn't wake up racist this morning?

[malaise]

23. Bwaaaaaaaaaaaah hahahahaha

spitting really good BM coffee here - you're going to pay for this

[Lochloosa]

36. I know what you mean...rug has always been on the fence.

[trumad]

28. Seriously---you can't figure that out?

[Matrosov]

48. It was against Calhoun

Calhoun, after whom the residential dining hall at Yale is named, was a staunch supporter of slavery. He believed not only that whites were inherently superior and therefore it was the natural place for African Americans to serve as slaves, he even felt that the social standing of white people should in part be based on how many slaves they owned. The more slaves you had, the higher your standing.

So by pointing out Menafee would've been whipped, rug is trying to remind us of what a racist person Calhoun was.

[raven mad]

64. Brush, sorry, but Calhoun was a strong advocate of slavery.

Member of Congress and Secretary of War under President Monroe.

His history is not one to be proud of, but I completely understand where the remark came from.

FYI: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_C._Calhoun

[brush]

79. I know, but the poster made a such declarative statement without indicating which side of . . .

the issue he fell on.

I was not familiar with the poster or his post count so I just wanted clarification as to where he stood.

[raven mad]

80. Brush, I may not have a high post count (the inveterate lurker here) -

and I agree with the ambiguity but I've read DU for so long, and you get to know styles.

Glad you're not angry with me - I despise Calhoun, and yet he was in the early part of this nation's history, an admired man.

I hope I didn't offend.

[brush]

81. No, of course you didn't offend me.

I'm surprised of the push back on my post.

Just wanted to know where the poster was coming from.

[Chan790]

4. Let's be clear...

because it's necessary to understand exactly how big of an asshole John C. Calhoun was.

If Calhoun were alive, Menafee would have been whipped only because there's no point in permanently damaging valuable property by hanging it from one of the many beautiful Elm trees that dot Yale's campus. If he was older or less capable or more worn-out...he'd have had him hanged.

As a Connecticut resident and as the SO of a Yale alumna, I'm committed to this necessary name-change. There will be no donations to Yale until Calhoun's name comes off that building. No Yalie who cares about equality or human rights should support that shit as long as the Res. College is still named after a pro-slavery activist.

[elias7]

27. If Calhoun were alive today, would he support slavery?

Do we reject all people who ever held a view that has become unfavorable decades or centuries later? Look at church imagery and art museums and you'll see the whole ugly and beautiful history of humans as it played out. Many of us would have held different positions if we lived in different conditions. Do we condemn all those who defended early American settlers as responsible for the near genocide of the native Americans. Can anyone realistically say that their perception of women in society would have been the same one hundred years ago as it is today. Would you call that person sexist?

Certain standards are universal, certain standards are always changing. Perhaps we should tear down all of Yale's buildings because the of what the gothic style represents to us in today's standards..

[rug]

59. John Calhoun supported slavery with his last fetid breath.

https://www.stolaf.edu/people/fitz/COURSES/calhoun.html

The promotion of slavery is not simply "unfavorable"; it is the ideology of genocide.

This "peculiar institution", as Calhoun euphemized, requires universal condemnation.

And yes, that applies to the genocide of indigenous peoples.

Yale did not propose tearing down the building. It was asked simply to change the name of it. A burden it found too hard to bear.

Good for Corey Menafee, a man with more moral fiber than the entire board of the Yale Corporation.

If you like, I'll get you a map of Berlin so you can locate the site of Hitler's bunker. Sadly, some less erudite people took it upon themselves to destroy it.

[stonecutter357]

5. K&R!

[Chemisse]

8. I would not be surprised if a lawsuit results from this.

Since the man who broke the window could be said to have been working in a 'hostile work environment.'

[oberliner]

12. He apologized for what he did and resigned

I assume you are kidding about the lawsuit.

[Chemisse]

38. Clearly that was not his plan.

But I can imagine a lawyer approaching him about it. It would garnish a lot of publicity.

[oberliner]

10. Actually, he smashed the panel and resigned

"Loses Job" implies that he was fired for what did, when, in fact, he resigned.

He also apologized for his actions, saying:

"It wasn’t my property, and I had no right to do it.”

[marble falls]

13. Civil disobediance to remove a racist panel in building named after a racist? I support it.

[oberliner]

14. Here's the panel

:small

[malaise]

25. Good that it is no more

[yardwork]

47. Style looks early 20th century. That's when the KKK had a resurgence.

[Sanity Claws]

15. IMHO

This panel is a reminder that Yale was built on the backs of slaves. (Money from slavery was used to build Yale. ).
I actually think the panel should remain to remind Yale students of an unredressed evil.

[appal_jack]

42. Yes, in a historical exhibit.

I think that just hanging in a work place without context or explanation sends a very wrong message that the past is acceptable without examination or critique. But displayed in a context that examines the slave money that helped to endow Yale in the early years would be educational and worthwhile.

k&r,

-app

[IronLionZion]

16. DUers who "don't see color"

would not know that it was depicting slavery and wouldn't know why it was wrong.

[malaise]

20. Good -a lot more of this racist pro-slavery crap has to be destroyed

one way or another

[philosslayer]

29. Agreed

Any picture, sculpture, window, etc. etc. that demeans African Americans by depicting them as slaves should be destroyed. Erased from history.

[elias7]

30. We should also get rid of anything to do with Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe,

Jackson, Van Buren, Harrison, Tyler, Polk, Taylor, and Grant, since every single one of these presidents owned slaves.

I wonder what we will be judged guilty of by our descendants in 200 years when norms and standards and moralities have changed...

[AwareOne]

35. People here don't want to hear logic

They want to judge 19th century Americans by 21st century mores and continue to be knee jerk reactionaries. When are they going to take down the Lincoln memorial? He was clearly a white supremacist based on his speeches during the LincolnDouglas debates.

[jack_krass]

63. Things you mention are indirectly related to slavery. The destroyed dish

Is a direct, "in your face" affront, especially to a black person.

[PaulaFarrell]

32. you can't erase history

it's foolish to try. Better to learn from it.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

61. +10000 n/t

[snooper2]

45. We should also tear up any railroad lines built by Chinese immigrants

That will teach those robber barons that worked them to death!

[oberliner]

34. In what way is the panel pro-slavery?

Should all depictions of slaves be eliminated wherever they exist?

[Iggo]

39. Okay. That's enough.

[oberliner]

54. Huh?

I am asking in what way the panel is "pro-slavery".

I certainly understand why seeing a panel depicting slaves could be upsetting and/or offensive, but I am asking how the panel is "pro-slavery".

[Exilednight]

46. Yes, it's horrible that we leave behind reminders of how awful

We treated one another. This history should be white-washed and thrown in the trash.

[0rganism]

56. i'd prefer to see it collected for a museum exhibit

we need to remember the sick past as well as the healthy

not just the events but also the attitudes and culture that made them possible

[AllyCat]

31. I was about to post that he should have handled this differently.

But then I read the year-long struggle the students have had, and realized nothing was going to change. I do not condone vandalism, but I understand how this man (on a level since I am white) must have felt. Glad to hear his side of the story.

The school needs to listen to the students. Menafee is right...THIS IS 2016!!! But hey, the SCOTUS says there is no racism.

[geardaddy]

33. Lake Calhoun in Minneapolis went through a name change of some sorts

It still bears the name, but after a lengthy campaign to change the name, the Park Board agreed to add the Native (Dakota) name for the lake on all signs (Bde Maka Ska)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Calhoun#Name

[heaven05]

37. good for him

spit right back in their eye after they have spat. I do it everyday literally and figuratively. I also know what it means to have a supremacist look at my brown skin and spit. I would have broken it also, stomped on it and if possible, burned it.

[whistler162]

40. Does anyone know the history behind that

and the other stain glass panels in the dining hall?

[dembotoz]

41. vadalism is vandalism

right and a wrong way to do thing

this is the wrong way

[Javaman]

44. while I agree with your point...

sometimes things need to be done in a direct manner.

if he had objected to the stained glass, it would have taken years for it to come down.

various committees to be formed to discuss the topic. donations needed to create a new stained glass, finding a museum that would take such an offensive work for their collection, etc.

sometimes, direct action is needed.

and personally, I completely agree with what he did.

I would be pissed off to if I had to view that image every single day.

[oberliner]

55. What about covering it up with something?

Taping something over it so it was no longer visible?

[Javaman]

58. LOL it's Yale.

if you have ever had the "pleasure" of meeting a alumni from Yale, you would understand.

their ego enters the room 10 minutes before they do.

covering it up, would never ever enter the conversation.

[oberliner]

60. I mean the guy who smashed it

What if instead of smashing it, he had covered it up? Then that could maybe get a conversation going, since a lot of Yale students agree with his perspective. Plus the school would not have the excuse of his destroying property and creating a hazardous situation with broken glass and whatnot.

[Javaman]

69. the moment he got on a step stool to cover it up, he would have been fired.

as I said before, it's yale.

no amount of common sense applies to the privileged few.

[oberliner]

71. He wasn't fired for smashing it

I doubt he would have been fired for covering it up. He might have been reprimanded, but the attention generated might have led to positive change. That seems to be happening anyway, as students and faculty have spoken out and even demonstrated in support of his actions.

[Javaman]

73. we're done.

I have had friends that went to yale and they came back feeling "special".

I have visited said friend at yale and felt like I needed to take a shower after meeting his school mates.

I know of what I speak.

so believe what you want, but the "good old boys" network is alive and well at yale.

[dembotoz]

75. granted yale is slime central but something more creative than smashing

[lostnfound]

57. And Yale could have responded with kindness and forgiveness.

Shouldn't be so hard for a school with supposedly Christian (though Puritan) roots.

Kindness and forgiveness. You know, "we don't want to ruin your life over this, so you can keep your job, no penalty." This wasn't random vandalism. It had a purpose and an understandable psychological basis.

[oberliner]

66. They did

They did not press charges, and he was not fired (he resigned).

http://news.yale.edu/2016/07/12/statement-yale-university-regarding-broken-window-calhoun-college

[lostnfound]

67. Good for them for dropping charges.. Maybe even better if

They had looked at it as an opportunity to hear the issue more deeply, by encouraging him NOT to resign, but instead giving him a chance to be deeply heard. They should find it interesting that this is the only way he felt he could have an effect on it. Occasionally when someone around you has kept things bottled up and then explodes, you can learn something from it.

Like if your normally quiet spouse suddenly bursts out with repressed anger over how clueless you have been, it's a good sign that there's a communication problem.

I like history and I love stained glass. It would be a hard thing to think about taking it down....but isn't it insensitive to leave it where it is? Is a work of art or a symbol of oppression? It's in the eye of the beholder. Turn it into a teachable moment for incoming freshman, perhaps.

Yale handled it in a decent way, by dropping charges,but they had some lemons that could have been made into lemonade.

[oberliner]

68. They are planning to remove any remaining offensive panels

And they are meeting with students and artists to determine what new panels can be created to replace them.

This does seem to have been a catalyst for a teachable moment in several respects.

[lostnfound]

76. That's great. Nt

[Democat]

43. The Taliban smashes historical artifacts they don't like too

Do people really support this?

[malaise]

50. When you celebrate smashing Lenin

and Sadam, others are watching. You see the selective preservation of what suits some always has consequences everywhere.

Who stole all that history from Iraq after the illegal invasion and occupation.
How come so much Middle Eastern and North African history ended up in Western Museums - common theft - in other cases utter and complete destruction.

I'd smash everything linked to the celebration of the Atlantic slave trade but that's just me.

[Lurker Deluxe]

51. Hell yea ...

We'll get to burning books in a minute.

Start with Huck Finn, which means Twain was racist so all his books should be burned, then Rush wrote a song about Tom Sawyer who was obviously racist so Rush is racist and all their music should be burned, and Golden Earing toured with Rush so they must be racist as well.

Let's get to burning!!!!

[awoke_in_2003]

53. Rush music should be burned

because it's Rush music

[romanic]

49. I get why he did it.

But vandalism is vandalism.

[MrWendel]

52. There are ....

some things in life worth taking a stand and getting in trouble for. This is one of them.

[Warpy]

77. Yale will require him to pay restitution, one way or another.

I hope the next artist doesn't give them a sanitized picture of slavery, with happy, well fed, well dressed people in a cotton field with picturesque but totally inaccurate baskets on their heads, the way they'd have been in Africa (minus most of the clothes).

I might be a little higher on the outrage meter but honestly, it was bad art meant to make the future ruling class feel all warm and fuzzy about oppressing the rest of us. See? Those slaves were happy! Think about how happier workers will be if we pay them wages! Never mind those wages are less than they need to survive on! They'll be happy! The simple people are always happy.

[CBGLuthier]

62. Vandal. Fuck him. No defending this action.

[raven mad]

65. K&R

Is there a gofundme link?

[RandiFan1290]

70. Good for him

Love seeing the butthurt trolls whining as well

[Logical]

72. FFS, shocked this place think destroying things are ok. Nt

[The2ndWheel]

78. As always, it depends on the situation

If you agree with something, you can find a justification for it. If you don't agree with something, there's no possible justification good enough. We're human, that's how it works. If there was some objective truth, we'd all probably be happier, and everything would be easy.

[Vattel]

74. Can't say I blame him.

He is entitled to a work environment free from racist images.

[oberliner]

84. What about the image is racist?

Is it just the fact that it depicts slaves that makes it racist? Is any depiction of a slave, by definition, racist?

[Vattel]

86. Of course not all depictions of slaves are racist. But I think this one is,

partly because it is in Calhoun Hall and partly because it does not present the slavery as a bad thing.

[oberliner]

87. Understood

Thanks for the response.

[LynneSin]

82. WAIT ONE FREAKING MINUTE....

I first thought this was a University somewhere in the deep south where I would expect this kind of racist stuff. I would assume some borderline racist University President of said deep southern university would defend the mural as 'Our History' (same as people did with the Confederate flag flying at SC State Capital).

BUT YALE??!!

And the fact that the President is DEFENDING this is pretty racist indeed. This is in the heart of New England in states that got rid of slavery in 1848, decades before the start of the Civil War and before Lincoln finally abolished it across the country.

There was a petition at my Alma Mater (Lebanon Valley College) to rename the Lynch Building, a building named after someone whose last name happens to be Lynch who donated like $500k back during the Depression. Yet some crazy reason a group of students wanted to rename the building because, well, Lynch also has other very sad meanings. But the building wasn't named after the 'Lynch the Verb' but Dr Lynch who was very generous to LVC. So something like that I thought was ridiculous if you ask me.

But this thing at Yale - bullshit - rename the building.

[oberliner]

85. You think only colleges/buildings in the South are named after slaveholders?

Have you ever been to Boston? New York? Washington DC?

There are sites named for Thomas Jefferson, for instance, all over the north east.

[Calculating]

83. This is just silly

Destroying historical artwork isn't the answer to stopping present day racism in this country. I understand why he'd be upset and do such a thing, but it's almost counter-productive. If anything, that artwork exists to remind people of the evils of slavery. This is like if a Jew was to destroy famous Nazi artwork.