Stripping Byrd From The Stadium

On today's episode of "That's Offensive!", we go to the University of Maryland in College Park, MD. The subject of today's discussion is the the university's football venue. Until today, it has been know as Byrd Stadium. However it's now slated to be renamed because it's namesake is "racist".

I have to admit, although I've been to Byrd Stadium a few times, I never really know anything about Mr. Byrd. After a quick Google search, I learned that Harry "Curley" Byrd was the former university president (1936-1954). Earlier in his career, Byrd also served as Maryland's football and baseball coach as well as it's athletic director. Byrd was considered the father of the University of MD during his 43-year career there.

After his time at the university, Byrd entered politics and ran for Governor of Maryland in 1954. Although he won the Democratic primary, he was eventually defeated by Republican Theodore McKeldin in the general election.

So far, it sounds like Byrd was a pretty active guy and an integral part of the University of Maryland. It seems fitting that the campus stadium might be named after him. So, what's the big deal?

Well, it turns out that Byrd was a segregationist. A-ha! He believed that blacks and whites should be "separate but equal" (Did I mention that Harry Byrd was a Democrat?). So, fifty-some years later, someone got a wild hair up their ass and decided that the name "Byrd" is offensive and it must be taken off the football stadium.

By the way, why isn't there a call to remove "Byrd" from things in West Virginia. After all, Robert Byrd was a former leader of the Ku Klux Klan. But half the state is still named after him. (Oh yeah, Robert Byrd was a Democrat too. Are you starting to see a pattern here?)

And along the same lines, Malcolm X was a bit of a segregationist too. But I don't see anyone protesting to have his name removed from boulevards in New York or DC..

Anyway, student protesters at Maryland put pressure on the university's president to remove Byrd's name from the stadium. UM president Wallace Loh then recommended that the board of regents strip the name and move it to a more "appropriate" place like the school library. The board met today and decided to go the politically correct route (surprise, surprise) and  transfer Byrd from the stadium to a small exhibit in the school library.

Will history continue to be raked over with a fine tooth comb in search of new offensive things? Were Harry Byrd's views on segregation extreme? By today's standards, absolutely. But are we to overlook someone's lifetime accomplishments because of what modern society thinks of their views from 60 years ago? Whether it's right or wrong, we can't simply erase history by banning flags or renaming football stadiums.

The next thing will be to remove Washington and Jefferson from US currency. That's right, you heard it here first.....

kw