University of Georgia asks to name buildings for Black grads
ATLANTA (AP) — The University of Georgia is asking regents to name two buildings for some of the university's earliest Black graduates. This week's proposal followed a decision by the University System of Georgia regents not to remove names of any people associated with slavery, segregation or the mistreatment of Native Americans from 75 buildings statewide.
University President Jere Morehead said UGA would seek to name its existing science library for Shirley Mathis McBay, the first African American to earn a doctorate from the university. UGA also is asking regents to name a dormitory under construction for Harold A. Black, Mary Blackwell Diallo and Kerry Rushin Miller. They were the first three African American students to enroll at UGA as freshmen and graduate.
Regents decide the names of buildings and facilities at all of Georgia's 26 public universities and colleges. Their next scheduled meeting is in January.
“Through these namings, we acknowledge the importance of these pioneers in the history of our institution,” Morehead said in a statement. “We celebrate their remarkable achievements and recognize the profoundly positive, lasting impact they have made on the University of Georgia.”
When regents rejected renaming buildings honoring people associated with the mistreatment of Blacks and Native Americans on Nov. 22, they adopted a statement saying that “Going forward, the board is committed to naming actions that reflect the strength and energy of Georgia’s diversity.”
UGA spokesperson Greg Trevor said the university had been considering the two new names for some time, and anticipates regents will approve them “in the near future.”
McBay earned a math doctorate from UGA in 1966 after earning master's degrees from what is now Clark Atlanta University. McBay...