Trejbal: Radford will stop honoring a racist
Radford University will no longer honor a racist
Christian Trejbal
Trejbal is a Roanoke Times editorial writer based in the New River Valley.
Radford University soon will undo a decades-old mistake by renaming Powell Hall.
Powell Hall opened in 1967 and houses space for the departments of music and art. It is named after John Powell, a famed Virginia pianist and composer who had died a few years before. He was a champion of local Appalachian music and was one of the founders of the legendary White Top Folk Festival in Grayson County.
If that were the whole of the story, placing his name on a music building would be a suitable memorial.
It is not the whole story.
Powell was one of the commonwealth’s most notorious racists. He was a firm believer in white racial purity and equated race with culture, especially music. The White Top Folk Festival itself was to be a celebration of the white race’s musical heritage.
September 12, 2010 - 12:41 PM
Great article and to the point…some things are simply not debateable and need attention NOW. For Powell Hall to remain so named does injury to all that walk through its doors. This is a fine example of doing what needs to be done (overdue, yes) and doing what is right. There is no honor in racism.
Is Cucunelli going to demand Straw’s and Scartelli’s papers for a possible investigation of fraud?