ISSUE: UGA's Dawson Hall is named in honor of Edgar Dawson, who benefited, defended, and perpetuated systems of racial oppression.

ACTION: (1) Sign the petition and share it with others. (2) Go to the following website (https://www.usg.edu/naming_advisory_group) and provide feedback to USG concerning the name of Dawson Hall. Feel free to use the following feedback template:

Dawson Hall is named in honor of Edgar Dawson, who benefited, defended, and perpetuated systems of racial oppression. The name of a building invokes an honor system in which the name it represents is rewarded and revered. Dawson Hall must be reconsidered and changed when the identity and ideals wrapped up in its name is associated with the profiteering and defense of human slavery and white supremacy. Dawson sends a clear and harmful message to BIPOC students, staff, faculty, and visitors that they are not welcomed, included, and that this space is hostile to them. Rename Dawson Hall.

DESCRIPTION: UGA’s Dawson Hall was constructed in 1932 and received its name from Edgar Gilmer Dawson who, among his family estate, established financial support for agricultural education at the University of Georgia. Edgar Dawson’s name was awarded to the building 49 years after Edgar’s death. So, it begs the question, who was Edgar? What we know, Edgar Dawson was born in 1830 and lived for 53 years until he passed in 1883. During his time in Georgia he was a planter, lawyer, and confederate major.

A planter, in the context of the United States during the 1800s, was a social class of southern aristocrats who dominated the agricultural markets by means of slavery. Planters were owners of slaves and amassed significant wealth by bonding, subjugating, objectifying, and systemically perpetuating violence and death against African slaves. Edgar Gilmer Dawson was a planter and a likely slave owner.

While Edgar’s work as a lawyer is elusive to online records, one can only imagine how someone with significant wealth based in slavery during his time would practice as a lawyer. If we look to Edgar’s father (William Crosby Dawson), who practiced law, was a judge, and served as a Senator and House Representative for the state of Georgia, we might have a partial sense of how the Dawsons understood and practiced law. During William C. Dawson’s time, he was actively involved in the combat and removal of native tribes in Florida and Georgia, supported and passed legislation upholding slavery as well as punishing and suppressing those who sought liberation. Although Edgar does not stand to account for his father’s work, again it sheds light on his father’s reputation and the values and beliefs Edgar was raised with and then perpetuated as a planter.

Concerning Edgar Dawson’s confederate service, at the age of 31 Edgar joined the confederate army serving as a captain and later major of light artillery during the civil war. Edgar, commanding his light artillery, was involved in the defense of the Savannah and the Carolina campaigns, later surrendering with the Army of Tennessee in 1865.

A building itself does not need a name. The name of a building is important for the wellness and identity of its inhabitants. When a building is named after a person, the name invokes a personality and identity as a part of the inhabitant’s community. The name invokes ideals that guide and inspire its inhabitants based on the origin of the name. The name of a building invokes an honor system in which the name it represents is rewarded and revered.

This in mind, the name of a building must be reconsidered and changed when the identity and ideals wrapped up in its name is associated with the profiteering and defense of human slavery and white supremacy. When names associated with white supremacy are revered on UGA’s campus, it sends a clear and harmful message to BIPOC students, staff, faculty, and visitors that they are not welcomed, included, and that this space is hostile to them. And when institutional structures are not critically examined, including the names of its structures, the institution will fail to fully address racism and white supremacy in its community.            

The College of Family and Consumer Sciences is housed in Dawson. The Dawsons in Georgia, both Edgar and William, benefited, defended, and perpetuated systems of oppression predicated on white supremacy. Dawson is our historical past, but is it our future? What is it we are celebrating by keeping the name Dawson Hall? The Dawson Hall name and what it symbolizes does not communicate a message of respect for diversity, inclusion, and equity to FACS students. The name of this hall needs to change!

SOURCE: Information related to the source of the petition's concerns can be found HERE.