Can a rock be racist?
It can be, according to student activists at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. The school in early August moved a giant boulder that had sat prominently on campus for nearly a century to honor geologist and former university President Thomas Chrowder Chamberlin.
“This moment is about the students, past and present, that relentlessly advocated for the removal of this racist monument,” said Juliana Bennett, a student and campus representative on the Madison City Council. “Now is a moment for all of us [black, Indigenous, and people of color] students to breathe a sigh of relief, to be proud of our endurance, and to begin healing.”
Chamberlin was never accused of racism or anything else inappropriate. Instead, the massive 42-ton boulder was removed because of a single line in a local newspaper nearly 100 years ago in 1925 that referred to the rock using an offensive anachronism.
Fred Lucas and Jarrett Stepman join “The Daily Signal Podcast” to discuss the incident and the broader movement to remove politically incorrect statues and monuments around the country.
We also cover these stories:
- President Joe Biden addresses the nation after all U.S. troops are withdrawn from Afghanistan.
- House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy criticizes the Biden administration for leaving Americans behind in Afghanistan.
- Several of the parents of the troops killed at the Kabul airport in Afghanistan are speaking out against Biden.
Listen to the podcast below.
Have an opinion about this article? To sound off, please email letters@DailySignal.com and we’ll consider publishing your edited remarks in our regular “We Hear You” feature. Remember to include the url or headline of the article plus your name and town and/or state.