The University of Wisconsin-Madison has removed a rock that was referred to by a racial slur 95 years ago. So why is no one calling for the removal of the newspaper that used that slur?
Chamberlin Rock, which was named for former university president Thomas Crowder Chamberlin (a geologist by trade), had to be removed from Observatory Hill following complaints by UW-Madison's Black Student Union. The group complained that one one occasion in 1925, the rock was referred to as a "n*****head rock" in The Wisconsin State Journal. As a result, the rock was a symbol of oppression and structural racism and actually caused harm to current students and had to be removed.
What about the newspaper that actually used such a hideous slur 94 years ago? Why isn't the Black Student Union calling for the The Wisconsin State Journal to be removed from Madison? By its logic, the paper is every bit as much a symbol of America's enduring white supremacy as Chamberlin Rock.
In the wake of the Black Student Union's stunning silence in the face of such hate, "The Dan O'Donnell Show" must take up the mantle of protecting the City of Madison and call for The Wisconsin State Journal to be removed from the city and for the paper to immediately cease publication.
If Madison is truly serious about protecting its residents, then it will heed this call.