Bibb Graves Hall
FLORENCE –When this writer attended the University of North Alabama (at the time, named Florence State University), it seemed that nobody really paid attention to the names of some of the names of the buildings on Campus. There was Rogers Hall, Coby Hall, Wesleyan, Norton, Rice, Rivers, LaGrange… They were just names. And to be realistic about the matter, nobody really thought too much about the etymology of their monikers. The big building at the center of Campus was Bibb Graves Hall, the administration headquarters at the time. Bibb Graves Hall was just another name in a constellation of structures that made up the fabric of the school. Some of these places were over a century old at that time, and were named for men who had long since moved on to the other side of life. Again, nobody really paid any attention.
Fast forward to 2020…
Peyton Barrow and Brooks Ritter
This past Friday a couple of students, Peyton Barrow and Brooks Ritter, held a public presentation in front of Bibb Graves Hall to get the ball rolling on changing the name of this old and historic building. One might ask why now? Why change the name of an old, venerated structure at one of the oldest colleges in the State of Alabama? Well, it turns out that, in addition to being one of Alabama’s Governors in the first part of the 2oth Century, Bibb Graves was a Grand Cyclops of the Montgomery chapter Ku Klux Klan. Barrow and Ritter think it’s about time for a name change. And they intend to get the movement started, including raising the $25-thousand fee to pay the state for permission.
There was a respectable sized crowd at the event to get things kick started and The Quad-Cities Daily was on hand to take some photos.
