Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar

Fight back against the idiots flying Confederate flags at Lincoln College and posting racist threats on Facebook: #SaveLincolnsLegacy

Posted in:

Illinois

Officials at Lincoln College in Lincoln are condemning a series of social media posts and other incidents that they say are racist.

While Lincoln is a predominantly white community, the student body of the college is 60 percent Black or Latino.

The Bloomington Pantagraph says there have been recent online posts disparaging students as “animals,” and people have driven through the campus in cars displaying the Confederate flag while shouting insults and threats.

Um, this is not a “they say” thing. It’s racism. Period.

Tons of small, private liberal arts colleges are closing throughout the country. The town is darned lucky to have a viable college and yet some residents do this?

Also, our old pal Rikeesha Phelon just ended her term on the college’s board of trustees, but she’s remaining active and she and her fellow trustees have really done a remarkable job keeping that college going.

* Lincoln College President David Gerlach…

At a time when our community is facing social, financial, and emotional challenges primarily due to the novel coronavirus, we need to band together to offer support and encouragement to one another.

In the midst of these challenges, I was notified of negative and racially-charged portrayals of Lincoln College students being shared on local Facebook profiles. Several of the comments included threats of violence against students and generally implicit racism.

Ironically, these negative, racist comments came on the same day that our student athletes were selected by the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) as Champions of Character Silver Award Winners for volunteer contributions to the community over the past year.

Unfortunately, the bigoted behavior has not been limited to online activities. Our students have also had to endure vehicles displaying confederate flags driving through campus and incidents of shouting insults and threats. This behavior would be appalling in any community, but it is incomprehensible how anyone living in a city named for Abraham Lincoln could display flags that pay tribute to those who tried to destroy our nation.

I know that the social media comments represent just a tiny handful of individuals and are not representative of the overall Lincoln community. Unfortunately, for students who are young and living away from home for the first time in their lives, a few comments can feel as though the entire community is against them and wants them to feel unwelcome.

Lincoln College brings together students of different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives which allows us to live and learn together. Our diverse student body enables us to enrich our campus and the Logan County community.

Lincoln College has a $53 million annual economic impact on Lincoln and Logan County. All businesses and residents of the community benefit either directly or indirectly from that investment. The students that are the target of these attacks are the source of that economic impact. Those who attack our students are, in a very literal sense, biting the hands that feed them.

Our students have only a few short years in our community. But, for the rest of their lives, as they pursue careers, build businesses, make investment decisions, and influence others, they will carry with them the impressions of the community they develop during these years. Lincoln and Logan County cannot afford to let a tiny group of hate-filled individuals soil its reputation for decades to come.

Please show kindness and patience to our Lincoln College students, as well as the entire community.

Idiots are parading Confederate flags through Lincoln College. I never thought I’d see the day. Please tell me again how that flag is about “heritage.” The heritage of Lincoln, Illinois and Lincoln College is the Union, not the traitors.

* But rather than shout into the wind, we ought to step up and do something about it.

Please, click here and donate to Lincoln College’s LINCOLN Fund. Enter the hashtag #SaveLincolnsLegacy (suggested by Rikeesha) in the “comments” box. I just contributed $1,000. Times are tough for too many, so that means the rest of us who are more fortunate should dig a little deeper. I’ll check later this week to see if we can get a total from the college.

Thanks!

posted by Rich Miller
Monday, Sep 21, 20 @ 12:56 pm

Comments

Perhaps they should change the town’s name to Trump.

Comment by Cheryl44 Monday, Sep 21, 20 @ 1:05 pm
“Perhaps they should change the town’s name to Trump.”

Next logical step would be to build a wall around the town.

Comment by Principal Skinner Monday, Sep 21, 20 @ 1:12 pm
The traitors highjacked Lincoln’s Party.

Now they want to highjack his legacy… with heritage and a confederate flag.

What does Rep. Bryant say?

The flag is heritage, “for some”, as she has yet to denounce it.

The last 20 minutes of the Docu-Drama of “Grant” ties this racist thinking up in a bow, easy to understand;

Upon Grant’s death, he was the most well-known, and celebrated American in the world. Now it’s Lee, a traitor, who’s legend and mythology that is spoken.

Abraham Lincoln was about preserving the union, not supporting rebels, traitors, who wanted their own country.

Comment by Oswego Willy Monday, Sep 21, 20 @ 1:23 pm
Why bother any more?

Let the town slowly shrink to nothing. Pull the school out of the town. That’s what the party of destruction is asking for - whether they understand it or not.

The only way any of this is going to stop, is if the party of trump gets everything it wants - and the population has to come face to face with the horror of what that actually means. Only then will the political atmosphere change.

Basically, at this point it has to get worse - much much worse - before it will ever get better.

Comment by TheInvisibleMan Monday, Sep 21, 20 @ 1:58 pm
The city father’s in Lincoln might want to take a field trip to Carthage. They could see first hand what happens when “your” local college just up and moves.

Comment by Yesterday’s Chairman Monday, Sep 21, 20 @ 2:25 pm
==The city father’s in Lincoln might want to take a field trip to Carthage. ==

Or to Mount Carroll (which lost Shimer College to the suburbs in the late 70s).

Comment by Chatham Resident Monday, Sep 21, 20 @ 2:29 pm
This is so disturbing. Traitors and losers fly the confederate flag.

Comment by Glengarry Monday, Sep 21, 20 @ 2:47 pm
=The city father’s in Lincoln might want to take a field trip to Carthage.=

I pass through there often. I don’t know what it looked like before the college left, but now it is the poster child for rural blight.

I can only imagine what would happen to these people if they ran around flying the confederate battle flag circa 1865-1895. I imagine it would be fairly unpleasant given the war was still fresh in people’s memory. I imagine there are cemeteries in Lincoln with Civil War soldiers interred there.

The stars and bars flags are a slap in the face of those that sacrificed their lives in order to end slavery and but down the rebellion.

Comment by JS Mill Monday, Sep 21, 20 @ 2:54 pm
Can we reopen Camp Douglas for these Copperheads?

Comment by Last Bull Moose Monday, Sep 21, 20 @ 2:58 pm
Why do my posts not go up? was I banned? I would like to know why if so. I am not aware of me saying anything inappropriate.

Comment by TS Monday, Sep 21, 20 @ 3:18 pm
okay, it worked. to the post

-I am a Lincoln native. Please do not let the actions of a few dictate what you see this community as. This behavior is unacceptable. Within the past year, we have had a BLM march across the town. This march was accompanied by people of all races, genders from this town. We have a mission to stop the hate. There is a billboard signifying this. It literally says “hate is not welcome here”. There are signs in many yards in the town supporting this movement as well. Lincoln College is great for this community. We have multiple black owned businesses that are supported here. We have churches in support as well. The school just turned into a 4 year school. having this diversity in the community is great. I believe in time, the students will continue to make a positive impact on the community as a whole in regards to race relations.

Comment by TS Monday, Sep 21, 20 @ 3:25 pm
Done.

Comment by OneMan Monday, Sep 21, 20 @ 4:10 pm
Just made a donation to the college.

Comment by Anon Monday, Sep 21, 20 @ 4:45 pm
This sickness needs to stop.
Just made a donation

Comment by Minnow Monday, Sep 21, 20 @ 5:36 pm
Free speech covers this and has for a long time , you can stomp and burn the American flag and you can fly the stars and bars if you want to. freedom.

Comment by A voter Monday, Sep 21, 20 @ 7:25 pm
Logan County named after Union General John A Logan, from Illinois I assume? Even more reason to oppose this nonsense.

And sure, freedom may indicate the ability to fly any flag you like. The same freedom gives others the ability to call you out. Get a clue.

Comment by low level Monday, Sep 21, 20 @ 7:35 pm
The city of Lincoln has lost a lot in the past several years. They cannot afford the loss of the college too if some in their community drive them out. The college also supports a gem of a museum in the Lincoln Heritage Museum. I hope the city leaders will appreciate what they have and speak out against the hate. If not it will be another place we will avoid.

Comment by bungalowhistorians Monday, Sep 21, 20 @ 8:21 pm
Rikeesha is not old

Comment by Soccermom Monday, Sep 21, 20 @ 11:16 pm