{"id":9301,"date":"2021-04-16T19:59:36","date_gmt":"2021-04-16T19:59:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/2021\/04\/26\/joseph-vaughn-statue-a-permanent-monument-to-a-legacy-of-change-officially-unveiled\/"},"modified":"2023-09-27T22:17:34","modified_gmt":"2023-09-28T02:17:34","slug":"joseph-vaughn-statue-a-permanent-monument-to-a-legacy-of-change-officially-unveiled","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/joseph-vaughn-statue-a-permanent-monument-to-a-legacy-of-change-officially-unveiled\/","title":{"rendered":"Joseph Vaughn statue, a permanent monument to a legacy of change, unveiled"},"content":{"rendered":"

View the ceremony livestream and video reflections.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Joseph Allen Vaughn \u201968 wanted to be just another student. But that was never going to happen.<\/p>\n

A popular figure on campus, the Greenville native stood out as a member of the Baptist Student Union, ROTC, the Collegiate Educational Service Corps, the Southern Student Organizing Committee and the cheerleading squad. He excelled academically and graduated cum laude with degrees in French and English.<\/p>\n

He was also, when he enrolled in January 1965, Furman\u2019s first Black student. And now his statue is the first likeness of a person of color represented prominently on campus, the focal point of the new Joseph Vaughn Plaza in front of the James B. Duke Library. The statue depicts Vaughn as he appeared in a photo at that time, as his classmates often saw him: walking down the library steps, books tucked under his arm.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe very purposefully placed it here, in the center of campus, the most prominent and heavily trafficked part of Furman,\u201d said Furman President Elizabeth Davis at the statue\u2019s unveiling on April 16. \u201cIt\u2019s facing outward, welcoming everyone, as Joe would have done.\u201d<\/p>\n

More than 100 guests attended the Friday afternoon unveiling, taking their seats to the sounds of the Greenville Baha’i Community Drummers, honoring the faith Vaughn observed up to his death in 1991. The statue\u2019s creator, sculptor Steven Whyte, watched live from his studio in Carmel, California. Hundreds of students, faculty and staff joined around the mall.<\/p>\n

After Davis welcomed the guests \u2013 including members of Vaughn\u2019s family, whom she thanked for \u201csharing your loved one with Furman\u201d \u2013 other speakers stepped to the podium to remember the student and honor his legacy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere could not have been a more perfect pioneer than Joe Vaughn,\u201d said Ed Good \u201967, chair of Furman\u2019s Board of Trustees, who was in his second year on campus when Vaughn arrived. \u201cBut this statue does more than celebrate Joe Vaughn. It represents a turning point in civil rights and racial justice \u2013 for Furman, for Greenville and the Upstate, and for South Carolina.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many in the state were not ready for integration, said Good, who remembered that Vaughn found a noose on his residence hall room door.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis statue is a rebuke of old notions and a promise that we will not return,\u201d Good said. \u201cIt is a symbol that Furman, now and forever, values diversity and inclusion.\u201d<\/p>\n

After graduating, Vaughn began a long career teaching English in the Greenville County school system in 1969. After his retirement in 1982, colleagues remembered his tireless efforts to help his students and advocate for his fellow teachers, as president of the Greenville County Association of Teachers and the South Carolina Education Association.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the work that began with Furman\u2019s integration in 1965 continued into the 21st<\/sup> century, with the creation of the university\u2019s Task Force on Slavery and Justice. Among the task force\u2019s recommendations were the construction of Joseph Vaughn Plaza and the establishment of Joseph Vaugh Day on Jan. 21.<\/p>\n

Enrolling at Furman was \u201cthe fulfillment of his dream\u201d to get the best education possible, Vaughn told The Paladin student newspaper in 1965. The dream resonates today for a diverse array of students.\u00a0 \u201cWhen I think of Joseph Vaughn, I see a man who fought to defend the lives of others \u2013 a man who dedicated his life to service,\u201d said Qwameek Bethea \u201921, president of Furman\u2019s NAACP chapter. Bethea lauded Vaughn\u2019s service as president of the Greenville and Southeastern NAACP chapters, as well as his leadership of peaceful protests against racial injustice in Greenville.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Furman University that stood in the 1960s is not the Furman University that stands here today,\u201d Bethea said. \u201cBut we must not let his legacy of change go unanswered.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marcus Tate (video reflection<\/a>), a cousin of Joseph Vaughn who attended Furman, agreed that the plaza and statue are a reminder of where Furman has been \u2013 and how far it has come.<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring my time here at Furman we have had countless events to raise awareness, but only for an hour, maybe a day, then shuffled this piece of history back into the archives,\u201d said Tate. \u201cNow, there is a statue and plaza representing Furman\u2019s consistent move forward in emphasizing that the only color that matters here on this campus is purple. Today is a testament that while no longer here, Joseph\u2019s work of equality and inspiring others to reach their full potential continues now and for the years to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

Furman Chief Diversity Officer Michael Jennings (video reflection<\/a>) had a special message of gratitude.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost of all, I would like to thank Greenville\u2019s Black community,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is the community that nurtured Joseph Vaughn, that educated Joseph Vaughn and that inspired Joseph Vaughn to be who he was. In doing this, Greenville\u2019s Black community has given Furman a gift whose legacy will endure across time.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Friday afternoon, as the crowd counted down, Davis and Tate removed the purple drape from the statue, which will remain, as Davis noted, as \u201ca beacon to everyone, but especially to people of color, people who might feel marginalized, people who, like Joe, might at times feel like a majority of one.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMay they see Joe Vaughn\u2019s statue and know that they are welcome at Furman,\u201d she said. \u201cMay they also realize the courage required of Joe to be the first, and be reminded that courage lies within each and every one of us. Let us all feel inspired to do great and courageous things, as Joseph Vaughn did.\u201d<\/p>\n

After the speeches were over and the Baha’i drums echoed, smiling students began lining up to take selfies with the new statue \u2013 welcoming Joseph Allen Vaughn to Furman once again.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Joseph Vaughn ’68 as a student at Furman.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

View the ceremony livestream and video reflections. Joseph Allen Vaughn \u201968 wanted to be just another student. But that was never going to happen. A popular figure on campus, the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":265,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,70,90,7,30,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9301","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-alumni","category-diversity-equity-and-inclusion","category-president","category-top-four-news-2nd-story","category-top-stories","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9301","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/265"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9301"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9301\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9301"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9301"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9301"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}