Confronting a Controversial Campus Tradition at GMU

Slave Day, or the slave sale fundraiser, was led and attended by white students and ran as a mock slave trade. Slave Day represents the remaining culture of racial ridicule at GMU. The last recorded slave day event at GMU was in 1973, and the first since 1971. 

The "Slave Day" activities that took place at GMU in the 1960s and 1970s are a notable example of the school's complicated past with relation to race and representation. Student organizations, like the fraternity Tau Kappa Epsilon (TKE), conducted these mock "slave sales" as a way to raise money. To make fun of the horrific history of slavery, participants, typically white students, would be "auctioned off" to complete chores for the highest bidders. These incidents fit into a larger trend of discriminatory behavior and ridicule that was prevalent on college campuses at the time.

While some staff members and students applauded these events, others opposed because they were disrespectful. In order to stop campus "slave sales," the Mason student "Anarchist Club" demanded legal action in 1971. This move demonstrated the growing awareness and rejection to such activities.