UA votes to remove pairing with former governor and rename education building Autherine Lucy Hall

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (WBRC) - The University of Alabama board of trustees has approved the resolution to rename the education building formerly known as Bibb-Graves Hall and more recently Lucy-Graves Hall, to Autherine Lucy Hall.

This newest decision comes after the board attempted to honor the school’s first Black, student, Autherine Lucy Foster, by pairing her name with former Alabama governor and Ku Klux Klan leader, Bibb Graves. The resulting Lucy-Graves Hall drew criticism from some.

“This has been a challenging time. In making its recommendations [the board] certainly intended for that paired name to generate educational moments that can help us learn from our complex and rich history. But the honoring of Autherine Lucy Hall sort of took the background and that’s not what we wanted,” UA Trustee John England said during the meeting Friday morning.

England expressed gratitude to Dr. Autherine Lucy Foster and her family for allowing the school to use her name to inspire others.

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