The President’s Advisory Panel on University Namings and Recognitions at Florida State University has recommended removing its Francis Eppes statue. This comes after two years of protests by the Tallahassee Students for a Democratic Society. Maddie Hendrick, treasurer of SDS, says the group first raised the issue during a campaign to increase black enrollment at the University.
“We looked into the history of the- affirmative action being banned at the University, and that actually happened the same year, 1999, that the statue was commissioned. This statue, which is a symbol, is definitely emblematic of the problems with white supremacy and anti-black racism we’ve been seeing at the University over the past two decades or so,” Hendricks says.
The recommendation passed despite 71% of students voting against the initial proposal two years ago.
