Statement of Chancellor Blank on Abraham Lincoln statue
As an educational institution whose mission is to serve and strengthen Wisconsin, our country and the world, our mission is to educate and to advance the boundaries of knowledge and understanding of the human condition. In pursuing our mission, we believe deeply in justice and equity for all people. UW–Madison continues to work on creating a diverse and inclusive campus that supports Black and BIPOC students, faculty and staff and the fight against racism.
We’re in conversations with a variety of campus stakeholders and partners about how to do more and do better. Current efforts include both a public history project and a land acknowledgement in recognition that the university sits upon Ho-Chunk land. Everyone agrees that there is much more to do.
The university continues to support the Abraham Lincoln statue on our campus. Like those of all presidents, Lincoln’s legacy is complex and contains actions which, 150 years later, appear flawed. However, when the totality of his tenure is considered, Lincoln is widely acknowledged as one of our greatest presidents, having issued the Emancipation Proclamation, persuaded Congress to adopt the 13th Amendment ending slavery and preserved the Union during the Civil War.
As the leader of UW–Madison, I believe that Abraham Lincoln’s legacy should not be erased but examined, that it should be both celebrated and critiqued. To give just one example – without Lincoln, public land-grant universities like ours might not exist. These universities have been engines of social mobility and economic growth for citizens who would never otherwise have had access to higher education. Yet we recognize that the very act that created these universities relied on money from land expropriated from Native Americans.
We have a lot of work to do here at the university to address system racism and oppression and there is a role for every member of our community. In addition to the resources and initiatives already under way, I will be sharing some new actions and commitments soon. I invite you to join us in these efforts to build a better, more inclusive campus.
