University of Illinois Removes Justice John Marshall's Name From Law School Due to Slave Ownership
Two years after merging with the John Marshall Law School, the University of Illinois-Chicago announced in a news release on Thursday it would be removing the name of the longest-serving chief justice of the United States due to Marshall's slave ownership and pro-slavery actions.
On July 1, the school's name will be changed from UIC John Marshall Law School to the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law. The vote to change the name was approved by the University of Illinois Board of Trustees, and the Legacy Law School Corporation and the Foundation Legacy Corporation, who were in charge of the school before its acquisition by the UIC.
The vote came after months of investigation by a task force which gathered input from students, faculty, staff and alumni in addition to conducting research on the proposed name change.
"Despite Chief Justice Marshall's legacy as one of the nation's most significant U.S. Supreme Court justices, the newly discovered research regarding his role as a slave trader, slave owner of hundreds of slaves, pro-slavery jurisprudence, and racist views render him a highly inappropriate namesake for the Law School," the task force report said.
Marshall was the fourth chief justice of the United States Supreme Court, and served from 1801 to 1835. Marshall was also noted for upholding the principle of judicial review, where courts could strike down federal and state laws if they were found to be unconstitutional.
The task force gave its report in February, and a 6-to-1 membership recommendation to change the name. Following the report, law school faculty voted in favor of the name change in March, and the university received approval from the Legacy Law School Corporation and Foundation Legacy Corporation in May.
"The name of the school has changed, but it doesn't erase its proud history or the impact of its faculty, alumni and students. As Chicago's first and only public law school, our mission continues to center on academic excellence, diversity, student success and bettering the lives of the people of Chicago and beyond," Law School dean Darby Dickerson said in the news release.
UIC Chancellor Michael Amiridis said in the news release that the name came after thoughtful deliberation, and was only made after input from multiple sources.
"The university has arrived at this new name following a thorough and carefully studied process that included input from all corners of the institution and beyond, considered issues of racial injustice and aimed to ensure that our university continues to be a place where diversity, inclusion and equal opportunity are supported and advanced," Amiridis said.
The law school was founded in 1899 and after its acquisition in 2019, UIC had agreed to keep the phrase "John Marshall Law School" in the official name for at least five years. The board approved for the transfer agreement to be amended for the name change on Thursday, the News Gazette reported.
