ASU Renames Residence Hall after Jo Ann Robinson

Jo Ann RobinsonAlabama State University will honor civil rights leader Jo Ann Robinson, renaming one of their historic residence halls in her honor.

The board of trustees voted unanimously for the name change after ASU President Dr. Quinton T. Ross, Jr. recommended renaming the hall, which previously bore the name of a Ku Klux Klan leader, Bibb Graves.

“Jo Ann Robinson was one of the catalysts behind the Montgomery Bus Boycott,” said Ross. “[She] is representative of the many faculty and staff members who were instrumental in bringing about one of the most impactful periods in the history of civil rights in the United States.”

The board’s vote took place after a committee researched the history of all the building and street names on campus.

“Our goal,” said Ross, “was to identify any names with segregationist ties and find opportunities to honor those who fought so valiantly for civil and human rights.”

Robinson was also an ASU professor and past president of the ASU Women’s Political Council. Her leadership helped solidify the Black community in Montgomery, Alabama to initiate a boycott of the National City Bus Lines.