Pacific U Strips Name of Racist Editor From Building

Pacific University’s board voted unanimously this weekend to remove the name of Harvey W. Scott from a campus building, The Oregonian reported.

“Pacific acknowledges historical ties with and past recognition of a community leader who advanced racism in our state, and we apologize for the harm it has caused,” President Jenny Coyle said in a Monday letter to employees and students. “We are committed to examining and learning from our past.”

The Oregonian article said, “Scott, the first graduate of Pacific University, edited the Morning Oregonian almost continuously from 1865 until his death in 1910, and held a minority ownership interest in the paper published by Henry Pittock. Under Scott, the newspaper excused lynching, promoted Jim Crow segregation, opposed equal rights for women and people of color, celebrated laws to exclude Asian immigrants and described Native Americans as uncivilized, saying their extermination might be needed. Explicitly racist editorials on the pages Scott oversaw openly mocked Black equality and interracial marriage, saying it degraded white people.”

The Oregonian ran a recent series on Scott’s history.