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Middleton family suing LSU for former university president's military collection

2 years 9 months 1 week ago Monday, June 14 2021 Jun 14, 2021 June 14, 2021 7:21 PM June 14, 2021 in News
Source: WBRZ
Collection of military memorabilia inside LSU Military Museum at Memorial Tower (photo via LSU)

BATON ROUGE - Descendants of Troy H. Middleton are demanding that LSU return a collection of the late university president's personal items which are currently on display at the school's campus.

A lawsuit filed Monday said the family wants Middleton's military collection returned and is also seeking compensation "extreme humiliation and embarrassment" suffered when the university ultimately removed the former LSU leader's name from its library last year.

The items being sought by the family include Middleton's personal effects which are currently on display at the LSU Military Museum, according to the lawsuit. The documents claim the university has ignored repeated requests from the family asking for the items.

"LSU made numerous public statements disparaging General Middleton's character and publicly professing defendant LSU's disavowal of General Middleton from any part of defendant LSU's history. As a result, Middleton's name was removed from the former LSU Middleton Library. However, the Middleton Collection remains in defendant LSU's possession and defendant LSU is apparently now recognizing the value of the Middleton Collection, has converted the Middleton Collection to its own use, clearly contradicting its public disavowal of anything 'Middleton.'"

The former Middleton Library was renamed after a vote from LSU's Board of Supervisors in June 2020. The decision was motivated by a push from student activists to strip Middleton's name from the building after a decades-old letter resurfaced in which he voiced his support of racial segregation.

Middleton served as the university's president throughout most of the 50s and into the 60s.

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