American university to acknowledge slave labour on campus

The University of Mississippi is planning to post a sign on their main campus recognising the fact that slaves built some of the university buildings that still stand today.

Not only will this sign be part of a new feature on campus, but the name of James K. Vardaman, a white supremacist and former governor and senator in the early 1920s, will be stripped from one of the buildings.

The acknowledgement of its historical background comes after changes started to be made in 2014, with the university administration having already planned to add a plaque featuring information on slavery and the Civil War to a statue of a Confederate soldier.

In fact, all eight of the Mississippi's universities now refuse to fly the state flag due to the inclusion of the Confederate battle emblem, seen by many as the last racist state flag in the US.

These changes are a sign of much-needed progress, with university leaders expressing an effort to make the university safe and welcoming for its diverse student body and to highlight “historical truths”.