Empty Apology?

For John, BLUF:  When do we stop apologizing for the past?  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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From the publication Inside Higher Education we have news of activities down county.  "Harvard Law Seeks to Change Seal".

Here is the Harvard Law School seal along with the markup by those wishing to have it changed for its indications of a racist past.  The focus seems to be an organization calling itself Reclaim Harvard Law.

Here is the lede from the article from Inside Higher Education, from this morning:

Martha Minow, dean of the Harvard University law school, has endorsed the recommendations of a panel she appointed to change the law school's seal, a major demand of minority students and others. The seal (visible at right in a logo used by the student group) shows three bundles of wheat. Students say the seal is inappropriate because it was the family seal of Isaac Royall Jr., who was honored as a major early donor to the law school but was also involved with the slave trade in the 18th century.

From my time in the Air Force I have seen these things come and go.  As a Squadron Commander in Alaska I had to go through a formal process to get our Squadron Patch recognized by the Air Force (someone, previous to my tenure, had changed it to better reflect who we were).  I remember when the designation of the Wing at Sembach Air Base, in Germany,♠ was changed to the 66th.♥  It involved changing the patch to remove what looked like a marijuana leaf.

OK, so unit patches come and go, even for ancient organizations.  And not so ancient organizations, such as Harvard Law School.  The logo needs to serve the needs of the current members.

That part of the story is pretty mundane.  What is interesting is if there is sufficient shame in having accepted the original contributions from Mr Isaac Royall, Jr, for the Harvard Law School to return the donation to the rightful heirs.♦  With Interest.

That would show real contrition.

I wonder what Harvard Law School Professor E Warren thinks?

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  Since turned over to the US Army.
♥  The 66th is now the 66th Air Base Group, at Hanscom Air Force Base, in Massachusetts.
♦  Not give it away to charity, which would be "accepting" the gift and repurposing it.  Return it to the family.