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'No excuse' for racially charged photos in A&M archives, President Young says

In a statement Thursday, President Michael K. Young addressed offensive images found in A&M yearbooks.

COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Texas A&M University President Michael K. Young is addressing a difficult topic in the university's past.  In a statement on his Facebook page Thursday, Young said, "Over the last week, racially charged photos have become a topic of national discussion. We know that, regardless of the time period, such images are markers of bigotry and prejudice. There is no excuse for it and similar images are part of our university's history as well. "

According to Young, archivists at the school's Cushing Library have been digitizing Texas A&M's yearbooks since 2013.  In that process, team members found pictures in some yearbooks "depicting students in blackface, misogyny and other shocking content that is offensive and inappropriate".  

Dear Aggie community, Over the last week, racially charged photos have become a topic of national discussion. We know that, regardless of the time period,

Rather than remove or obscure the pictures, Young says the team decided to digitize the books exactly as they are, but adding notes to their web pages acknowledging that some content could be seen as offensive. 

He ended the note saying, "We love our university and we acknowledge its history in all its dimensions because it has formed us and made us who we are today. There is so much good here and there are so many people who embody our values. This is what truly makes Aggies, Aggies." 

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