The Volokh Conspiracy
Mostly law professors | Sometimes contrarian | Often libertarian | Always independent
John Marshall Law School Cancels John Marshall
"Despite Chief Justice Marshall’s legacy as one of the nation’s most significant U.S. Supreme Court justices, the newly discovered research regarding his role as a slave trader, slave owner of hundreds of slaves, pro-slavery jurisprudence, and racist views render him a highly inappropriate namesake for the Law School.”
The John Marshall Law School is no more. The University of Illinois at Chicago, which recently acquired the formerly-private law school, has approved the name-change.
The vote comes after months of review by a task force that gathered input from students, faculty, staff, and alumni, conducted research and proposed principles to guide the institution in evaluating a potential name change.
The task force report noted, "that despite Chief Justice Marshall's legacy as one of the nation's most significant U.S. Supreme Court justices, the newly discovered research regarding his role as a slave trader, slave owner of hundreds of slaves, pro-slavery jurisprudence, and racist views render him a highly inappropriate namesake for the Law School."
"The university has arrived at this new name following a thorough and carefully studied process that included input from all corners of the institution and beyond, considered issues of racial injustice and aimed to ensure that our university continues to be a place where diversity, inclusion and equal opportunity are supported and advanced," said UIC Chancellor Michael Amiridis.
John Marshall has officially been canceled. The greatest jurist in American history has been summarily excommunicated. Inclusion demands exclusion. These purges will not stop with slavery. None of us are safe.
I previously wrote about efforts to cancel Marshall here, here, and here.
