(WASHINGTON D.C., 2/7/2022) – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today called on the University of Alabama to drop the name of a Ku Klux Klan (KKK) leader from a campus building. CAIR also expressed support for a discrimination claim against an Alabama Confederate museum filed by a Black employee.
The University of Alabama is planning to rename a building currently named for former Governor Bibb Graves, a Grand Cyclops of the KKK, to include the name of Lucy Foster, the first Black student to enroll in the university. The building is set to be named Lucy-Graves Hall.
SEE: Alabama building to share names of KKK leader, Black student
https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/nation-world/national/article258046713.html
A now-retired Black employee at the historical house in which Confederate President Jefferson Davis lived during the first months of the Civil War, has filed a racial discrimination complaint with the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment. A framed article hanging on a wall at the site reportedly describes Davis as an American patriot who achieved “one of the most amazing feats in history” by keeping the “north at bay for four long years.”
SEE: Black worker at Confederate site raises race complaint
https://www.moultonadvertiser.com/news/state/article_3a3b4ac2-ac25-508d-b391-dfc8fcd7164e.html
“Honoring white supremacists and racists in public spaces fosters an environment in which racism and bigotry are acceptable,” said CAIR National Communications Coordinator Ismail Allison. “We support all efforts to combat the legacy of systemic racism and white supremacy.”
He noted that CAIR has repeatedly called for the removal of Confederate flags, statues and symbols from public spaces nationwide.
SEE: CAIR Condemns Plan to Make Confederate Monument ‘Centerpiece’ of Arkansas Public Park Named for ‘Traitor’
CAIR Reiterates Support for Efforts to Remove Ala. Confederate Monument Near Historically Black College
CAIR Reiterates Support for Effort to Rename N. Virginia Street Honoring Confederate General, KKK Fundraiser
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La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
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CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Coordinator Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com