By Kassel Pierre-Jean

InPDUM (Independent People’s Democratic Uhuru Movement) held a demonstration on Wednesday calling for the removal of the Thomas Jefferson statue, donated by David S. Mack, located in front of the Student Center.

InPDUM, a new group recently approved on campus, contends the statue’s presence is offensive because of Thomas Jefferson’s position on black slaves.

“This was one of the first issues that we wanted to address when we were getting InPDUM together. People aren’t really aware of who Thomas Jefferson was,” B-Real, InPDUM’s president, said.

Darren Sands, InPDUM’s public relations coordinator drew up a petition regarding the removal of the statue. Before InPDUM could submit the petition to the Student Government Association (SGA), they needed to obtain signatures from 10 percent of the student body.

InPDUM collected well over 800 signatures-enough to push their petition through to SGA for a vote. SGA passed the referendum 17-9 and will be included on the ballot during the elections held on May 5 and 6.

DJ Broyld, the campus committee coordinator of InPDUM said, “I didn’t pay attention to the statue either but when B-Real brought the idea to us as a petition, I began to think about what the statue really symbolized. We’re serious about what we’re doing.”

In an excerpt from Jefferson’s Notes On The State of Virginia, he wrote of blacks, “Comparing them by their faculties of memory, reason, and imagination, it appears to me that in memory they are equal to the whites; in reason much inferior… and that in imagination they are dull, tasteless, and anomalous.” Jefferson conceded that blacks “are more generally gifted than the whites” in music, but did not go beyond that in admitting African-American talent in arts and literature (despite the fact that black poet Phyllis Wheatley was renowned in his day). The main thrust of Jefferson’s argument was deeply rooted in freeing slaves and sending them back to Africa “to be removed beyond the reach of mixture” with whites.

Such excerpts from Jefferson’s book and recent (but controversial) DNA findings that Jefferson may have had an affair with one of his slaves, Sally Hemings, lays the foundation for InPDUM’s cause.

“I understand that [Thomas Jefferson] did some good things, but he still enslaved black people,” Broyld said. “People say it was legal then, but that doesn’t make it right.”

Freshman Quran Hall agreed with InPDUM’s attempt to address a symbol that offends some Americans.

“The statue is blatant disrespect to African-Americans at the University. It’s about time we stood up to get it removed,” Hall said. “It’s a snowball effect. It’ll raise racial consciousness.”

Freshman public relations major Quinnale Drayton seemed much more cynical about the issue.

“How much is going to change? I can understand protesting something bigger, yes, but a statue? No.”

Sophomore finance major Rob Sforzo disagreed with InPDUM’s attitude toward Thomas Jefferson in general.

“His accomplishments are responsible for the freedoms we enjoy now,” Sforzo said. “Why are they able to [protest]? Because of our Founding Fathers. We celebrate him for the good things he did; not the bad.”

Lloyd Goulbourne, a member of InPDUM said even though Jefferson was involved in writing the Declaration of Independence, its intent was not for slaves.

“He didn’t write it for black folks; he didn’t even write it for poor, white folks! He was responsible for the rights of rich, white landowners. That’s who the Declaration of Independence was intended for. [Blacks] had to fight for their rights,” Goulbourne said.

Barbara Kelly, a professor in Mass Media Studies in the School of Communication, alluded to the idea that the Jefferson statue may stir up strong feelings similar to that of the Confederate flag when it was flown from the state house in Alabama.

SGA Senator Andy Valentin expressed his support for InPDUM’s agenda.

“We can’t be complacent as students. We provide the salaries for the administration; they are responsible for us,” Valentin said. “We, as students, have the right to go to the University and ask them to remove the statue.”

InPDUM was not alone in their cause as several organizations such as the Maliks, Collegiate Women of Color (CWC), and Students Against Injustice (SAI) joined them.

However, despite SGA’s endorsement of the referendum, Senator Bradley Smallberg said, SGA does not possess the power to remove the statue if the referendum passes.

“This is something that should have been discussed with the administration,” Smallberg said. “Mr. Mack donated the statue and the Student Center. He also currently sits on the Board of Trustees. Can you imagine if the referendum passes and nothing happens?”

But to InPDUM, the passage of the referendum isn’t the most important thing-raising the student body’s social consciousness about Thomas Jefferson is.

“This was a productive rally,” Goulbourne said. “We passed out 350-400 flyers. We’re unifying people around one common cause. We got our point across.”

Broyld emphasized that InPDUM was a grassroots organization, not a social organization like many groups on campus.

“We unite around the issues. This is a test case to see how much power students have on campus because students are the cornerstone of the campus,” Broyld said. “The administration has to listen to the student body.”

Melissa Connolly, assistant vice president for University Relations, issued the statement: “The president encourages the open discussion of issues and exchange of all points of view, and of course the student point of view and their various experiences are especially important to him. While we have not been given formal notice of the petition at this time, we look forward to a frank and open exchange of opinions and concerns and an understanding of the position of the petitioners.”

Senior political science major Sheldon Goodridge said the removal of the statue would not solve divisive problems that exist between the races on campus.

“While I would be more inclined to say ‘take it down,’ I think there should have been a campus-wide conversation with the administration,” Goodridge said. “If the majority of the people vote for this, SGA has the responsibility to follow through.”

Broyld, in the meantime, made an urgent plea to the student body to vote for the referendum.

“Let your voice be heard at the polls on May 5 and 6 at the SGA elections.”

Sands added, “This is a collective effort with the administration and the students. We have to be open-minded and progressive thinkers. We want them to be honest with us and we’ll be forthright with them.”