VMI Will Keep Its Confederate Statues

The Virginia Military Institute will keep its statues of Confederate soldiers -- including Stonewall Jackson, who taught at VMI -- and preserve the names of building that honor them, J. H. Binford Peay III, the superintendent, announced last week. "We do not currently intend to remove any VMI statues or rename any VMI buildings. Rather, in the future we will emphasize recognition of leaders from the institute’s second century. We will place unvarnished context on the value and lessons to be learned from the Institute’s rich heritage, while being mindful of the nation’s challenges and sensitivities to being fair and inclusive to all," he wrote in a letter to VMI students and alumni.