NC State removes Josephus Daniels name from campus building

BY KATE MURPHY

N.C. State University trustees voted to remove the name on Daniels Hall at a special meeting Monday.

The campus building was named after white supremacist Josephus Daniels, a former News & Observer publisher who used the newspaper to incite fear of Black residents and political leaders.

Daniels also helped orchestrate the 1898 race riot in Wilmington that overthrew an elected mixed-race government and resulted in the killings of at least 60 Black residents, the News & Observer previously reported.

“A building named in Josephus Daniels’ honor is in complete opposition to the values of N.C. State,” Chancellor Randy Woodson said, “and is contrary to the best interest of our university as it serves as a constant reminder of this painful chapter in our state’s history.”

Woodson noted Daniels’ “strong ties to white supremacy” and how he used the News & Observer to promote those values. Woodson also mentioned Daniels’ “leading role” in the Wilmington Massacre.

CHANCELLOR TALKED TO DANIELS FAMILY

N.C. State named the building for Daniels in 1938 because of his support of the university’s engineering program, particularly the electrical engineering program that was housed in the build-ing. Daniels also served as member of the Watauga Club and as an N.C. State trustee.

Woodson said he spoke to the Daniels family about the decision, and he said they understand why this is important to N.C.

State.

The decision by the board of trustees comes a week after the Daniels family removed a statue of him from Raleigh’s Nash Square and the Wake County school board voted to rename Daniels Middle School in Raleigh to Oberlin Middle School.

Woodson recommended the removal of Daniels’ name and that the building not be immediately renamed.

He said much of the building will be unoccupied as engineering programs have already or are in the process of moving out. The building also needs extensive renovations, which the university doesn’t have money for, and there are no plans for other departments to move into the space, according to Woodson.

NAMING POLICY CHANGES ON THE HORIZON

He suggested deferring the decision on renaming until those renovations are complete.

At the end of the meeting, Woodson suggested changing the university’s naming policy to “provide clarity and incorporate a more thoughtful pathway” to discuss naming issues in the future. He said they plan to bring a set of policy updates to the board this fall.

“As the state’s largest public university, we have the responsibility to educate ourselves and those who pass through our doors to overcome ignorance,” Woodson said.

“And unite us against racism and intolerance and advance the dignity, and power of diversity.