Hi all,

In order to be as transparent as possible, there's an update I need to post. I just got off the phone with Charles Irons, the chair of Elon's history department and the chair of the Committee on Elon History and Memory. He offered some valuable information and clarified something.

1. There were two mobs involved in the murder, and the overlap between those two groups is unclear. The first (lead by Harper) took John Jeffries to the judge. The second removed him from jail, took him into the woods, and killed him. Harper appears to not have been in that group. It had been my understanding that Harper was in charge of both. I apologize for the error.

2. Even with this fact, both buildings Harper and Long are being considered for renaming. William S. Long, the first president of Elon, had a brother who helped found the KKK in North Carolina among other things that, while Mr. Irons explained them to me, I don't feel fully qualified to explain all of that. Though it wasn't directly the actions of William Long, the building's name is still a tie to a racist past.

3. The Committee on Elon History and Memory plans to publish a report soon detailing the racist and problematic events that have taken place during Elon's history. Due to the protests and COVID-19, this report has been delayed. It will hopefully be released soon.

4. There will be a formal process on the decision to rename both Harper and Long. Charles Irons and I discussed how, even though this fact complicates things, it is not for us to decide whether or not his name should remain. It is not for any white person to decide singlehandedly. It is much more complicated than simply deciding to change it. 

5. Bryan Stevenson's Equal Justice Initiative has a newly-formed action coalition in Elon that the university helped to create. They are actively working to honor John Jeffries' memory. It is my hope that soon, many more students will know his name.

6. The renaming must first be decided on and the whole process can take a while, so it likely will not be completed by August 26th, the 100 year anniversary of John Jeffries' death (There are many conflicting reports on the spelling of his last name, just BTW).

The shift in my understanding of Harper's role in the lynching does not change my opinion of him or my belief that the building needs to be renamed. If you aid in a murder but do not pull the trigger, that doesn't make you any less of a murderer. If this correction changes your mind about taking his name off of the building, that's a different and complicated story. We don't get to draw a line to decide who we remember fondly and who we remember as negatively. As a white person, I will never fully understand what it is like to be Black. Black students at Elon, make your voices heard. If the Harper building makes you uncomfortable, let the administration know. Speak up, because this decision should be in YOUR hands. It should not be up to white people to decide what is and is not a safe space, it should be up to you. I hope that, with the help of the Committee of History and Memory, we can rename both buildings in order to create a more welcoming environment at Elon. Again, I apologize for originally putting false information. It was never my intention to mislead anyone and I misunderstood Harper's specific role in the lynching. Let it be known, though: he had a role. Whether directly or indirectly, he contributed to the death of John Jeffries. Do not let that be forgotten.