FSU College of Law students urge removal of B.K. Roberts' name from academic building

Timothy Seiler, a first-year student at Florida State’s College of Law, admits being reluctant to speak during a forum Thursday, where the focus was on the late Supreme Court Justice B.K. Roberts – whose name adorns the college’s main academic building.

That honor, bestowed in 1973 by the Florida Legislature in honor of Roberts, who was instrumental in bringing the college to FSU, has become the focus of discussion for The President’s Advisory Panel on Namings and Recognitions.

Opponents want it removed.

Roberts served on the Florida Supreme Court from Sept. 1, 1949 to Dec. 1, 1976, including three stints as chief justice. But part of his tenure is muddied as civil rights activists, historians and even some law college graduates, describe him as a staunch segregationist.

That sentiment is fueled by how he worked vehemently from the bench to deny Virgil Hawkins' admission to the once-segregated University of Florida's law school. Even though the U.S. Supreme Court ordered the school to desegregate, Roberts, as justice, wrote opinions defying the court’s order.

FSU President John Thrasher last fall created the panel to review the university's history of naming buildings. It followed a discussion held last summer with FSU leaders in the wake of protests last summer over a Confederate statue in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Thursday’s forum inside B.K. Roberts Hall, attracted about 60 people, mostly students. Several suggested removing Roberts’ name from the building, saying it is offensive and doesn’t represent the school’s focus on being inclusive.

Seiler said he doesn’t think many current students opposing the recognition were aware of Roberts’ history until recently, when a handful of people brought it to the panel’s attention.

“I think a lot of the controversy is manufactured,” Seiler said, following the forum where he also noted Roberts was instrumental in creating the public defender system and selected three times by his peers to serve as chief justice.

“I find it hard to believe they are truly hurt or disenfranchised because of the name on the building,” Seiler said. “A person of normal fortitude is not going to be disturbed by the name on a side of a building that has no visceral connection.”

Instead, Seiler said, opponents should “be proud we have overcome the matters of racism in the past.”

He suggested naming the college’s law library for Hawkins, a black man, and displaying plaques of his struggle and those of Roberts’ connection, at the college.

But Tawanna Franklin, a third-year student and president of the college’s Black Law Students Association, thinks differently.

Franklin, who earned an undergraduate degree from North Carolina A&T University, said the creation of the law school at FSU following the defunding of FAMU’s College of Law, is well documented.

So is the Roberts’ history. In previous years, she said, students were advised against challenging the recognition by those saying it wasn’t the association’s role.

“I think now is the perfect opportunity for us to make the change,” she said. “Charlottesville made a lot of people aware of the need for change that racism was still prevalent in society.”

She said Roberts’ name needs to be removed from the building. She noted The Advocacy Center, part of the college's complex, isn’t named after an individual.

“We see this as a platform to share our views and thoughts as minority students,” Franklin said, adding that non-minority students also have supported removing the name through social media posts.

“B.K. Roberts doesn’t represent the culture of the student body and the administration here,” she said.

In addition to Roberts Hall, Thrasher has charged the panel to focus on the statue of Francis Eppes – a former Tallahassee mayor and prominent slave owner - near the Westcott Building, and the recognition of Eppes on the building housing the School of Criminology.

Eppes’ name didn’t come up Thursday.

Erin O'Hara O'Connor, dean of the College of Law attended the forum, but made no public comments.

“I am so very proud of all of our students who spoke today,” she said afterward in a statement. “Every speaker was an incredibly effective advocate, and the students who attended were civil, respectful, and supportive of the students expressing their views. 

Their conduct today serves as a beacon of hope for our increasingly divided society.”

Contact senior writer Byron Dobson at bdobson@tallahassee.com or on Twitter @byrondobson.

Upcoming public forums:

The President’s Advisory Panel on Namings and Recognitions.is hosting a series of meetings to cast a wide net in receiving feedback. A second forum was scheduled for 3 to 5 p.m. Thursday at the Black Student Union.

Upcoming dates include 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Monday at the Askew Student Life Center, 942 Learning Way, and from 2 to 4 p.m. Tuesday at the Turnbull Center, 555 W. Pensacola St.