AROUND THE BLOCK
Knoxville, Tennessee Report
Anti-Semitic, 9/11 message painted on The Rock at UT-Knoxville
Third incident in the last year
As many Around the Block readers know, I visit Knoxville, Tennessee frequently; my nephew lives there with his three children – one at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville (UT-K), and two in high school.
Knoxville is a lovely small city. It has a vibrant downtown and beautiful suburban neighborhoods set among breathtaking mountains, rivers and lakes. Outdoor activities are unlimited, there are four distinct seasons and, for those who are into that kind of thing, it is home to more fast-food outlets than any other place I’ve been to (and the bagels aren't bad either). Just don’t expect good Italian food or pizza.
Knoxville has a vibrant Jewish community. The Reform congregation dates back to the early 1900's and Chabad welcomes Jews of all persuasions; it runs a wonderfully nuturing school which my nieces and nephew attended, not for religious purposes, but for the quality of the education
And catch this, football fans: the street circling the school’s football stadium, Neyland Stadium (the 4thlargest stadium in the U.S.) is called Peyton Manning Pass. (And don't the Colts wish he was still in Indy)
One unique aspect of the UT-K campus is the Rock, a 97.5-ton hunk of Knox dolomite stone which has served as an iconic campus “town crier;” most every day, and sometimes multiple times a day, individuals and groups paint the surface of the Rock to express opinions or congratulations as well as other messages.
Most recently the Rock was painted with the T-shirt design done by a young UT fan from Florida, who was bullied after wearing a homemade Vols T-shirt to school. He wanted to represent the Vols on college colors day at his elementary school but didn't have a UT shirt. The elementary student got creative and made his own UT logo on a white piece of paper and pinned it to an orange shirt. So, typically of our current environment, he was bullied for his "made-up" shirt. His teacher posted the student’s shirt online; he and his plight got the attention of UT Volunteer nation (Tennessee is the "Volunteer" state). And his design was painted on the Rock.
The Vol Shop subsequently produced the boy’s T-shirt design on real T-shirts; their website crashed because it couldn't handle the traffic the shirt created and, to date, over 50,000 have been purchased.
So, all good in Knoxville.
Until this from the Knoxville News-Sentinel:
"The Rock at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville was defaced with an anti-Semitic message on Wednesday night.
"The Rock previously had been painted with the viral T-shirt design done by a young fan from Florida, who was bullied after wearing a homemade Vols T-shirt to school. That painting was covered with an anti-Semitic message, including the phrase "Jews did 9-11.”
The News-Sentinel went on to report, "Chancellor Donde Plowman issued a statement on Thursday, condemning the anti-Semitic message.
"'Last night, someone covered that message of love with an anti-Semitic hate message,' Plowman said in a statement. 'We condemn that hate aimed toward members of our Jewish community, and we understand that words are not enough.'”
That anti-Semitic message has since been painted over.
According to the News-Sentinel, this is at least the third time in the last year the Rock has been painted with anti-Semitic messages or symbols. The first occurred last November, when a vigil was held at the Rock after the shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, where 11 people were killed and seven were injured.
At the vigil, the Pittsburgh Steelers logo along with the phrase "Stronger Than Hate" was painted on the Rock.
In the days after the vigil, the phrase was changed to "Stronger Through Hate" and a swastika had been painted. (Image not available)
Shortly after, swastikas were again painted on the Rock, along with "messages of hate."
In her statement on Thursday, Plowman asked "Volunteers to join us in uniting around how we respond to hate on the Rock."
"We want to work together to create a movement around what we want to be," Plowman said. "I will start by meeting with members of our Jewish student community this morning. We will expand the conversation to all Vols so we can work together on an action plan and will share more in the coming days."
Reacting to the school’s previous responses to the anti-Semitism on campus and despite Plowman’s words, the UT-K chapter of AEPi (my fraternity) issued the following statement,
“The Psi Deuteron chapter stands firmly against this hate. We are sick and tired of University of Tennessee constantly doing nothing to address this. This happens time and time again and all the university has said is 'this is unacceptable.'” AEPi at UT-K asks the Greek community to share this on their stories and to tag the University. It’s time something is done about this. Our chapter stands against hate of all forms, and simply want action to be taken. We ask that alumni, friends, and family share this and make no way for the University to avoid this topic this time.”
My nephew texted me, "So upset that I’m raising my kids in a place where this is still going on. And Taylor goes to school there." I told him, "You should talk to the kids and let them know that what these people did does not represent what Knoxville or UT stands for. And the fact that it was covered up with a Bible verse is testament to that."
As of this writing there has been no reaction from Tennessee’s two Republican senators nor the Knoxville area’s two GOP congressman. But we are hoping that the four won’t be following President Trump’s admonition that “there are good people on both sides."
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