Stanford to remove Junipero Serra’s name from two buildings.
18th-century leader of California mission system has been accused of brutality while spreading Catholicism
Stanford University announced plans this week to remove the name of Fr. Junipero Serra, accused by critics of brutalizing indigenous people as he spread Catholicism throughout California in the 18th century, from two buildings and a key mall on campus, but will retain the name of the founder on other campus features.
Hours later, before the sun rose in San Francisco on Friday, workers removed from Civic Center Plaza the controversial “Early Days” statue, which depicted a partially-clothed Native American man lying at the feet of a Spanish settler and a Catholic missionary.
They’re the latest in a string of monuments, memorials and statues nationwide to fall to criticism that they’re offensive to indigenous people, raising questions about how history and its heroes are viewed in a more complex climate.
Stanford noted that while Serra was the “founder and clearly identified leader of the California mission system,” the legacy of the Roman Catholic priest includes the “harmful and violent impacts of the mission system on Native Americans, including through forced labor, forced living arrangements and corporal punishment.”
Outrage over controversial historical pieces or places that bear the names of historical figures isn’t new — but the end result is, according to Melissa Michelson, a political science professor at Menlo College.
“These communities have been unhappy about these statues and these names for a
long time,” she said. “But the idea is that if you highlight the issue, something might actually happen. And that’s very empowering for these communities. There’s this wave of responsiveness that they want to grab hold of.”
In the case of Stanford and San Francisco, those who objected to the statue or to honoring Serra had been making their cases for years. But experts say these controversies are becoming more common because our perception of art and culture has changed over time, a factor that Stanford said played a role in its decision.
“Revisiting how we think about historical figures is a challenging undertaking that requires care and humility,” said Jeff Raikes, chair of the Stanford Board of Trustees, which approved the name changes based on recommendations from a committee of faculty, students, staff and alumni. Stanford plans to rename Serra Mall — its official address — to honor Jane Stanford, one of its founders, though it needs permission from the county and the postal service.
“With the passage of time, we gain new understanding of historical events, the people who shaped them and the effects of those events on others. At the same time, we know that all individuals’ lives are imperfect and that any exercise to evaluate a historical figure by present-day standards has limitations.”
The question of art is always “in flux,” said Michael Ogilvie, public art director in San Jose, which has had its share of controversies over historical statues.
“The idea that people can create something at one point in time and that that idea is going to last forever is ridiculous,” he said. “Art reassess itself and culture reassess itself.”
In March, workers moved a Christopher Columbus statue out of San Jose’s City Hall and into the Italian American Heritage Foundation after a drawn-out battle between those who condemned Columbus as a colonizer and others who saw him as a symbol of the contributions of Italian-Americans. The plan is to eventually move Columbus to a museum in Little Italy.
“When I would come to
City Hall, I would see the statue of a man who was responsible for the rape of my ancestors,” said Peter Ortiz, a community organizer from east San Jose, who is Puerto Rican. “I felt that was a symbol of injustice and very much a symbol of racism.”
In 2016, the city moved its contentious Fallon Statue — a bronze of former Mayor Thomas Fallon and an unnamed sidekick raising the U.S flag — to Pellier Park on Julian and St. James Streets. The statue, commissioned by city leaders and Mayor Tom McEnery back in 1988, spent more than a decade in an Oakland warehouse because critics saw the 1846 moment it memorialized — capturing San Jose during the Mexican-American War — as offensive to Mexicans. The statue was finally installed in 2002.
Is the drama over these statues worth it? Yes, says Ortiz.
“There has been a heightened awareness of social justice issues in recent times,” he said. “There’s a lot of people who have come forward who have historically felt marginalized and didn’t feel empowered by the greater community. People are refusing to hold back.”
“Revisiting how we think about historical figures is a challenging undertaking that requires care and humility.”
— Jeff Raikes, chair of the Stanford Board of Trustees