Black Yale Worker Faces Arrest for Destroying Slavery Image

Thirty-eight-year-old Corey Menafee, a Yale University dining hall worker loses job after smashing a glass window depicting images of slavery.

Corey Menafee finds himself jobless after he destroyed one of the glass windows located at the university’s Calhoun College on June 13. The window illustrated images of enslaved Black Americans picking cotton.  The thirty-eight-year-old who prior to the incident worked as a dishwasher at Yale University divulged to breaking the “racist, very degrading” image at the university’s residence hall, Campus Reform reports.

In his own words, the former dining hall worker said, ‘I took a broomstick, and it was kind of high, and I climbed up and reached up and broke it,’ the New Haven Independent reports. Menafee further stated that it was shameful and demeaning for him to see such images every day.

The university’s residence hall where the incident happened bears the name of a superficially racist and self-professed slaveholder John C. Calhoun. Students of the university have since then partaken in a year-round protest, calling on the university authorities to take off Calhoun’s name from the residence hall.

However, a report by the Atlanta Black Star indicates that the Yale University President, Peter Salovey has declined the request of the students. He explained his action by saying that, changing the name will give confidence to the campus community to confront the history of slavery.

In the meanwhile, Menafee’s action has served as a wake-up call on the university to remove a set of stained glass windows depicting slavery, the New Haven reports.

Menafee has since apologized for his action and resigned from his job at the university. The lawyers for the university and Menafee are scheduled to meet the state prosecutors and will finally take a decision as to whether to pursue a criminal case. A new court date was set for July 26.

It is about time all racist symbols are removed from public places. None of the Black people would like to see everyday proof of the shameful past of the American people, reminding them of the era when they were considered as second-class persons.

So Corey Menafee was absolutely right in his fury. Treat Black people with respect, and they will pay you the same. The days when Black people could be intimidated with impunity are far gone.

.@gofundme for Corey Menafee, ex-@Yale employee who was fired for smashing this racist panel https://t.co/GUzuMPMLQk pic.twitter.com/HYZ675FeQj

— Erin Gallagher (@3r1nG) 12 July 2016

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