BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) -- Less than a week after deciding to rename one of its halls after both its first enrolled Black student and a former Alabama governor, the University of Alabama Board of Trustees has now decided to just keep one name.
In a special called meeting Friday morning, the board decided to rename Bibb Graves Hall, one of the school's education buildings, to Autherine Lucy Hall, named after the first Black student to enroll at the university in 1956. The decision comes a week after the board had originally decided to keep both names, renaming the hall Lucy-Graves Hall.
“On the one hand, Gov. Graves is regarded by historians as one of, if not the most, progressive and effective governors in the history of the state of Alabama,” trustee emeritus Judge John England said at the time.
“Some say he did more to directly benefit African American Alabamians than any other governor through his many reforms. Unfortunately, that same Gov. Graves was associated with the Ku Klux Klan. Not just associated with the Ku Klux Klan, but a Grand Cyclops. It’s hard for me to even say those words.”
Following the board's original decision, Foster offered her perspective.
“I don’t know how to feel because I don’t know anything about him,” she said in an exclusive interview with CBS 42. “I wouldn’t say it doesn’t bother me, but I accept it because I didn’t ask for it and I didn’t know they were doing it until I was approached the latter part of last year.”
On Friday, England said he and the naming committee met again following concerns expressed in the community over Autherine Lucy, whose married name is Autherine Lucy Foster, to share a building name with Graves, who at one point was a leader in the Montgomery chapter of the Ku Klux Klan.
"I will say that this has been a challenging time," England said. "The working group, in making its recommendation, certainly intended for that paired name to generate educational moments that can help us learn from our complex and rich history. Somehow or another, the honoring of Autherine Lucy Foster sort of took the background and that’s not what we wanted. We’ve heard enough from people whose opinion matter to us—students, faculty, staff-- that we can do that in a better way than what we’ve done."
Foster, a native of Shiloh Alabama, was a student at UA for three days until riots and angry crowds on campus forced her to leave. Following time in Texas and Louisiana, Foster and her family returned to Alabama in 1974. Foster, who taught at Birmingham City Schools, eventually received her master's degree from Alabama in 1992.
This story will be updated.
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