Human Rights

Yale Employee Destroys Stained-Glass Window Depicting Slavery

Corey Menafee worked as a dishwasher at Calhoun College and says the depiction of slavery had no place in the dining hall.

Yale Employee Destroys Stained-Glass Window Depicting Slavery
Ethan Prater / CC BY 2.0
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A dining hall worker at a Yale residential college is facing criminal charges after smashing a stained-glass window depicting slaves in a cotton field.

"It was a disturbing image. I didn't know I was supported this much. I didn't even realize what I did I had such an impact on other people," Corey Menafee told WVIT.

Menafee worked as a dishwasher at Calhoun College and says the depiction of slavery had no place in the dining hall.

Yale's historical ties to slavery have come under fire before. Calhoun College, named after vocal slavery supporter John C. Calhoun, has faced calls to change its name.

In a statement Tuesday, Yale said Menafee endangered a passerby by breaking the glass. The university reported Menafee has resigned and the school will not press charges. But WTNH reported he still faces charges from the state of Connecticut, since glass from the window fell onto a public sidewalk.

This video includes images form Addy Cameron-Huff / CC BY 2.0 and Ethan Prater / CC BY 2.0 and clips from Yale Daily News and Yale University.