Hampton University is a historically Black university located in Hampton, VA that was founded in 1868. On January 27, 2019, the university unveiled a new addition to the campus, Legacy Park. The park faces the university's widely admired waterfront, and includes benches and 11 statues commemorating the likes of US Presidents, Civil Rights icons and more. This includes Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, Mary Jackson, Barack H. Obama, Frederick Douglass and other individuals whose legacy is rightfully being honored on campus.

Unfortunately, there is one statue that is unfit to exist in this park alongside the aforementioned figures, and that is the statue of the late, former president of the United States of America, George H. W. Bush (Bush Sr.). 

Bush Sr. was invited to Hampton University's commencement in 1991. At this time, there were protests from students and faculty alike, calling for the cancellation of his appearance. 

At this point, some of you may be wondering what makes him unfit to be recognized in Legacy Park, or why there was controversy about his visit in the first place, all those years ago. In simple terms, the presence of this statue is akin to memorializing the current President of the United States, Donald J. Trump in ~30 years, right beside Colin Kaepernick.

Before becoming president himself, Bush Sr. served as vice president, under the Reagan administration. This political platform (occasionally referred to as "Reaganism") was extremely hostile towards black Americans. Through the perpetuation of policies such as the War on Drugs (a continuation of Richard Nixon's platform), objection to civil rights, and otherwise capitalizing off of racial tensions at the expense of people of color, this platform compounded the 400 year old plight of black Americans. Bush Sr. himself ran ads during his campaign for presidency that were straight out of the playbook on how to dog-whistle racists. He continued to promote the legacy of Reagan throughout his own presidency, and was consequentially unpopular amongst black Americans.

It's no wonder why his visit to a Hampton University, again... a historically BLACK university was protested by the student body, faculty and staff resources collectively. Despite these unified efforts, the school's administration ultimately allowed George H. W. Bush to deliver the commencement address.

Now almost 30 years later, the Board of Trustees is at it again. They've decided to erect a statue of this man, thus honoring him and his legacy, despite the facts that the majority of the campus was not in favor of his original visit in '91, and that his platform further corrupted the lives of black Americans. 

It is an absolute embarrassment, that the institution that produced Booker T. Washington, Mary Jackson, Alberta King, and thousands of others that have stood on their shoulders, that the Board of Trustees and ultimately the university's long term president, William R. Harvey somehow found it morally acceptable to memorialize this man on our beautiful campus. Hampton University existed nearly 100 years before blacks were even legally allowed to attend predominately white institutions. Here we are just a little over 50 years since we've had such rights, celebrating a man who advocated against the very piece of legislation that changed that. 

This petition is calling for the immediate removal of the recently unveiled statue of George H. W. Bush, from Hampton University's Legacy Park. It is a complete misalignment to celebrate him on our soil. We are doing ourselves a disservice as a school, and are failing to represent the interests of the larger black community. The presence of this statue sends a message to the rest of the world that Hampton University, a historically black university, is willing to forget recent history, distance ourselves from the rest of black America, and ultimately compromise our morals.

This does not reflect the values of the larger Hampton University community. For these reasons, we demand that the statue be removed immediately. 

Please sign this petition to support the removal of the statue. On the grounds of remaining aligned with the interests of the black community as a whole, correctly capturing the university's collective unfavorable sentiment towards George H. W. Bush (by not having the statue at all), and preserving the dignity of the institution, we must remove the memorial from Hampton University's Legacy Park, entirely. 

We love our home by the sea, thank you for supporting #HULegacy!