Florida State University to relocate statue of founder who owned slaves, supported Confederacy

Florida State University President John Thrasher took swift action Tuesday announcing plans to remove a statue of Francis Eppes from the Westcott Plaza and to seek legislative approval to erase former Florida Supreme Court Justice B.K. Roberts's name from the main classroom building at the College of Law.

Eppes, the grandson of President Thomas Jefferson, was a slave owner and sided with  the Confederacy during the Civil War. The Eppes statue was unveiled in 2002, with a marker designating Eppes as a founder of Florida State University. It was part of a recognition spearheaded a year earlier by President Sandy D’Alemberte.

Eppes Hall also was named in 2000 with the approval of D’Alemberte and the Board of Regents.

Roberts, a former state Supreme Court justice, was an avowed segregationist who used his position to thwart the efforts of an African American, Virgil Hawkins, to gain admittance to the University of Florida law school.

Thrasher is accepting two of the three recommendations forwarded to him Friday by the 15-member President’s Advisory Panel on University Namings and Recognitions.

The panel was appointed by Thrasher last September and began meetings in October.

It was created to examine the university's history of naming buildings. It evolved after Thrasher met with his leadership team last August in response to violent protests over a Confederate statue in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Thrasher decided against the panel’s recommendation to remove the Eppes designation at Eppes Hall, which houses the College of Criminology and Criminal Justice.

Eppes statue will soon be moved

In an interview with the Democrat, Thrasher said he expects the removal of the Eppes statue will be done “pretty quickly.”

“I think the next thing to do is remove the statue and put it in a safe place and take some time to decide where we want to relocate it to,” he said, adding it could find a home in Eppes Hall or in Dodd Hall on campus at some point.

Once it finds a home, the university will include a marker about Eppes’ role in helping to establish the predecessor of FSU, as well as his history of slave ownership.

Thrasher said he felt Eppes' contributions to what is now FSU were too important to remove his name from Eppes Hall, as recommended by the panel.

A marker also will be placed at the building that “accurately explains that Eppes was one of many people who had a role in the establishment of FSU’s institutional predecessor and include additional context.”

The panel’s recommendations have not been well received by members of the Eppes family in Tallahassee.

“Ain’t much you can say about it,” said Nicholas Eppes Sr., great-grandson of Francis Eppes and great, great, great-grandson of Thomas Jefferson.

“I can’t tell (Thrasher) what to do,” Eppes, 90, said. “I hope he didn’t open up a can of worms for the university.”

Regarding B.K. Roberts Hall, Thrasher said he plans to meet with leaders in the Legislature and the new governor ahead of the March legislative session to seek permission to remove the former justice’s name from the classroom building at the College of Law.

He accepted the panel’s recommendation to provide contextualized recognition of Roberts within the college.

“I plan on personally going to the leaders of the House and Senate and the new governor, when they are chosen, to let them know why we did what we did,” he said.

Roberts was instrumental in getting the FSU law school established and was recognized for his other contributions to Florida’s legal system, Thrasher said. But the jurist left a “complicated legacy.”

“To keep the name of B.K. Roberts on the law school building would continue to honor someone whose decisions and actions do not reflect Florida State University's values or the rule of law,” wrote Thrasher, a graduate of the law school. “This honor is a painful reminder of this state's segregationist history, and it is highly offensive to many in our community, including many current FSU law students who attended a forum to formally express their objections.”

Not a quick decision

Thrasher said it is important to understand his decisions were based on the extensive research conducted by the panel, and from public input during numerous town hall meetings held in the past several months.

He said he didn’t expect everyone to agree with him, but he said the process was important in uncovering more accurate information on Eppes and in understanding the message that having Roberts’ name on the law school building evokes.

“I just didn’t make some spur of the moment decisions,” he said. “There is a value in the process.”

Katherine Draken, a senior psychology major and organizer with the left-leaning Students for a Democratic Society, said the student group is pleased, for the most part. The group's members were in the forefront in seeking the changes.

“We are glad to hear Thrasher will follow the panel's recommendation because removing the Eppes statue and renaming Roberts Hall are important steps towards making FSU a more welcoming place for black students ...” Draken said.

“We are disappointed to hear Thrasher will not rename the Eppes building because Francis Eppes does not deserve to be honored with a building considering his legacy of upholding and advocating for slavery.”

Thrasher announced his decisions in a letter released to faculty, staff and students. In it, he praised the work of the panel and the feedback generated from the public.

He also said FSU’s campus exemplifies “our rich heritage all around us,’ including the names on its buildings and the statues.

“But our history is not without flaws, nor were some of the people who contributed to the growth of this preeminent institution,” he wrote. “How we choose to acknowledge that truth is important.”

Ed Burr, chairman of FSU’s Board of Trustees, said he thought the extensive process involving the panel’s work, research and getting input from the public was “outstanding,” and he’s very supportive of Thrasher’s decision.

“The president sought advice and input from the Board of Trustees, but this was the president’s decision,” he said.

Contact senior writer Byron Dobson at bdobson@tallahassee.com or on Twitter @byrondobson.

KIRO