In 1718, The Collegiate School was renamed to Yale University after an £800 donation from Elihu Yale. Previously serving as the President of Madras before being removed due to claims of corruption, Yale primarily amassed his wealth by being a prominent slave trader. While there is no clear documentation that Yale himself owned slaves, there exist portraits of Yale with slaves around him. This is something that he could have just as easily omitted from the portraits of himself he commissioned, making it clear that it was something he wanted documented, or was proud of.



The university cannot continue with this horrid background. Harvard Law School changed their crest after it was discovered the benefactor of the law school was a slave owner, and the law school's crest was closely modeled after their benefactor's.



There's precedent for the university to be renamed to something less heinous. Now we look to the administration to make a difference.