Florida State Will Try—For The Third Time—To Oust Segregationist Namesake From Its Law School Building

Following up on my previous posts (links below):  Karen Sloan (Law.com), Florida State Will Try—for the Third Time—to Oust Segregationist Namesake From Its Law School Building:

The third time could be the charm for Florida State University to strip the name of an avowed segregationist from its law school building.

University President John Thrasher announced Tuesday that Florida State will lobby the state legislature to approve removing the name B.K. Roberts from the law school’s home—a move that has twice failed during the previous two years. But the university looks to have some additional support among lawmakers this time around. Earlier this month, state legislators from the Tallahassee area agreed to introduce a bill that would remove the Roberts name from the law school.

“I have never wavered in my support for this issue,” Thrasher wrote in a letter to the Florida State community. “As I said in 2018, ‘to keep the name of B.K. Roberts on the law school building would continue to honor someone whose decisions and actions do not reflect Florida State’s values or the rule of law.’ ” ...

Thrasher wrote that he is optimistic that lawmakers will take action this time around.

“With [the backing of Tallahassee lawmakers] and resolutions of support from the FSU Board of Trustees and the FSU Faculty Senate, I’m hopeful the bill will move forward during the legislative session that begins March 2 and that we’ll have a positive outcome in this matter.”

Prior TaxProf Blog coverage:

• Senate President Outlines Path To Rename Florida State Law School To Distance Itself From Segregationist Past (Dec. 11, 2018)
• Senate Committee Approves Bill Authorizing Florida State To Remove Name Of Avowed Segregationist From Main Law School Building (Mar. 13, 2019)
• Faculty Call For Removing Name Of Segregationist Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice From Florida State Law School Building (June 15, 2020)
• Florida State Board Of Trustees Condemns Name On Law School Building (Aug. 18, 2020)