The Good Men Project
Become a Premium Member
We have pioneered the largest worldwide conversation about what it means to be a good man in the 21st century.
Your support of our work is inspiring and invaluable.
Black Americans Elevated Education, Fought Racism
Black scholars are calling for change that extends beyond hiring practices.
By Noelani Kirschner
Ted DeLaney arrived at Washington and Lee University as a janitor. By the time he left, he’d been chairman of its history department. DeLaney’s story is extraordinary, but his path is one shared by millions of Black Americans: Overcome prejudice, seize new opportunities, and contribute to your community and your nation.
Black Americans elevated education, fought racism | U S Embassy in Georgia usembassy.gov - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from usembassy.gov Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Ted DeLaney, Conscience of a Roiled University, Dies at 77
He worked his way up from custodian to department head at Washington and Lee, then led a reckoning with the Confederate general its very name honored, Robert E. Lee.
Professor Ted DeLaney on the campus of Washington and Lee University in Virginia in 2015. His fondness for the school, his alma mater, was both wholehearted and complicated.Credit.Kevin Remington/Washington and Lee University
Published Dec. 29, 2020Updated Dec. 31, 2020
Ted DeLaney, who began his nearly 60-year career at Washington and Lee University as a custodian, accumulated enough credits to graduate at 41, returned a decade later as a history professor, became the school’s first Black department head and later helped lead its reckoning with the Confederate general its very name honored, Robert E. Lee, died on Dec. 18 at his home in Lexington, Va. He was 77.