In a prominent spot on the University of Mississippi campus stands a statue of a nameless Confederate soldier. Erected in 1906, it was one of many unveiled across the South as a generation of Confederate veterans reached old age, says Andrew P. Mullins Jr., an associate professor of education and former chief of staff to the chancellor. Mr. Mullins, who has worked at the university for decades, has spent a lot of time thinking about the history of the statue over the past several months. In 2014 several racist incidents at the university — including the appearance of a noose on a statue of the institution’s first black student, James Meredith — prompted the creation of a committee to analyze Confederate symbols on the campus. In the fall, as renewed cries from students surfaced to demand such symbols’ removal, the committee, which includes Mr. Mullins and several others, began drafting language to put the Confederate statue in historical context.

March 23, 2016 ・ From Chronicle of Higher Education