Zane L. Miller Symposium to focus on A&S and legacy of Charles McMicken

By: John(na) Jackson

The 4^th annual Zane L. Miller Symposium, sponsored by the University of Cincinnati’s Department of History, will center on a panel discussion about the life and legacy of Charles McMicken - UC’s founding benefactor.

After his death in 1858, McMicken – a wealthy slave owner – bequeathed nearly $1million in real estate to the City of Cincinnati to found a university. His will specified that the institution was meant to serve the educational needs of “white boys and girls.” A later court ruling stated that since people of color were not specifically excluded, the university was open to all.

Recently, a UC working group was established to study the life and legacy of McMicken, and in November 2018, Student Government passed a resolution to remove McMicken’s name from the College of Arts & Sciences.  

The conversation surrounding McMicken comes during a national moment where numerous institutions are seeking to address unresolved tensions around historical icons.

“Several institutions across the country have been called on to examine symbols and names associated with racism and exclusion,” said President Pinto in a university-wide email on Dec. 10 announcing the creation of the working group. “Multiple cities have removed or relocated statues memorializing Confederate figures, while numerous sports teams have changed mascots to eliminate racial and ethnic appropriation.”

According to Stradling, UC’s ongoing bicentennial year is a perfect time to address UC’s history, and he anticipates the evening will be an important chapter in this ongoing conversation.

“Every year the goal of the Zane Miller Symposium is to engage with the public on critical current issues,” says Stradling. “This year, with the university focused on increasing inclusion, and the nation increasingly attuned to the lingering power of historical symbols of white supremacy, we thought a discussion of the legacy of Charles McMicken – how his ideas about race continue to affect students, staff and faculty – would be an especially timely topic.”

Habteselassie, who made UC history when she was elected the university’s first African-American woman student body president, echoes the necessity of such conversations in terms of creating an inclusive campus community.

“I've always believed candid and constructive conversation can stimulate community building and that is exactly what I think the McMicken panel discussion will bring to our university,” says Habteselassie. “Educating ourselves on the whole version of history surrounding Charles McMicken and his relationship to our institution is a starting point towards curating a more inclusive campus.”

The symposium is hosted by the UC Department of History, and co-sponsored this year by the African American Cultural and Resource Center, the UC Department of Africana Studies and the UC committee of the Universities Studying Slavery project. It is organized annually to honor the research and pedagogical legacy of Zane Miller, a pioneer in the study and teaching of the history of American cities, who taught for UC’s history department for 35 years.