UC Berkeley Removes Names From 2 More Buildings With Racist Namesakes

After a formal review process lasting four months, officials at UC Berkeley announced the removal of the names on two of its buildings on Wednesday.

LeConte Hall, comprised of a north and south wing housing the physics department, and the social sciences-oriented Barrows Hall, which also houses campus radio station KALX, will be renamed because of their namesakes’ racist and white supremacist legacies.

Nineteenth-century science professor Joseph LeConte came from a slave-owning confederate family and used scientific language to promote racist ideas. LeConte's brother, John, also taught science at the university and shared similar ideas. Both brothers served the South in the Civil War.

"Despite their service to the university, the brothers’ words and deeds profoundly conflict with our values, and with our commitment to equity, inclusion and a true sense of belonging for every member of our community," wrote UC Berkeley Chancellor Carol Christ in a statement on Wednesday.

David Prescott Barrows was UC president from 1919 to 1923, and was also a white supremacist. A participant on the front lines of U.S. colonialism in the Philippines, he peppered his writings with dehumanizing statements about people of color.

"Barrows' words and actions were anti-Black, anti-Filipinx, anti-Indigenous, xenophobic and Anglocentric” and “advanced the interests of white supremacy,” the proposal to un-name Barrows Hall stated.

Until the buildings receive new names, university officials said the two wings of LeConte Hall will be known as "Physics South" and "Physics North." Barrows Hall will be called "The Social Sciences Building."

"I think it's a step towards increasing inclusion on our campus and challenging our historic lens of the university," student union president and fourth year undergraduate political science major Victoria Vera told KQED earlier this week.

Vera said UC Berkeley is forming a task force to consider how to rename the buildings.

Earlier this year, the university removed namesake John Henry Boalt from its law school, due to his racist leanings. That building is currently called "The Law Building."

In her statement, Chancellor Christ said the removal of legacy namesakes from buildings is part of a larger process.

"I have committed my administration to doing everything in its power to identify and eliminate racism, wherever it may be found on our campus and in our community," Christ said.

“Unnamings are just the tip of the issue," said Melissa Charles, UC Berkeley’s assistant director of African American student development. "They’re a step in the right direction — a necessary step, but a small step."