We are (forced to be) Grady

The Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication is named for Henry W. Grady, a well-known white supremacist and a problematic figure in Georgia’s history. In June 2020, a petition was formed by alumni that called for the renaming of the college. The petition demands that the college be renamed after Charlayne Hunter-Gault, one of the most celebrated graduates of the college and the black woman who integrated the college for the first time. The University Systems of Georgia announced shortly after the petition gained attention that they would be appointing a board to address the names of buildings on all public university campuses in the state of Georgia. Despite promising a transparent process since the announcement of the board, there have been little updates and the only transparency given has been two meetings that were open to the public.

The most pressing question of those opposing a name change for Grady College is WHY is it important? Why is it worth the funds, time, and energy just to change the name of a building/college? Students who walk the building’s halls see the name “Grady” at every turn, forced to celebrate the memory of a man whose beliefs they don’t share.. This photo essay attempts to answer why a name change is needed — why being “Grady” college does not promote a culture of inclusivity and value, but rather promotes a culture of complicity.

One of many entrances to Henry W. Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication on campus at the University of Georgia, in Athens, Georgia, early in the morning on October 7, 2020. At all entrances of the Journalism building there are signs honoring the school’s controversial namesake. Photo: Jordan Bischoff, jeb83756@uga.edu

On the walls on the second floor of Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication in Athens, Georgia reads the school’s tagline, “We are Grady,” a message that is echoed throughout the building. Not only does the college bare Henry W. Grady’s name, but it brands itself as “Being Grady.” Photo: Jordan Bischoff, jeb83756@uga.edu

Dean Charles Davis office in the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication building on campus in Athens, Georgia on October, 7 2020 due to social distancing rules, students are not allowed inside without an appointment. Dean Davis, who has declined multiple times to comment on the movement to rename the college, will play a key role in the renaming process if the advisory board approves the change . Photo: Jordan Bischoff, jeb83756@uga.edu

On the second floor in the hidden hallway of the journalism building on the University of Georgia campus in Athens, Georgia, students can find the only mention in the entire five-story building of Charlayne Hunter-Gault’s role in integrating the university.. Hunter-Gault was the first black woman to graduate from the Grady College of Journalism and the petition created by the #RenameGrady Task force is requesting the school be renamed after her. Photo: Jordan Bischoff, jeb83756@uga.edu

The dedication plaque to the Holmes/Hunter Academic Building glistens in the sun on the morning of October 7, 2020 on campus at the University of Georgia, in Athens, Georgia. It is named for Charlayne Hunter (now Hunter-Gault) and Hamilton Holmes, the two black students who first integrated the University of Georgia, and is one of few buildings on campus not named after a white person. Photo: Jordan Bischoff, jeb83756@uga.edu

Looking up at the front of Aderhold Hall, the building that houses Mary Frances Early College of Education (which was renamed in February 2020) on campus at the University of Georgia in the afternoon on October 8, 2020. Despite Mary Frances Early College of Education becoming the first college on campus renamed for a black woman, O.C. Aderhold, who the building is named for, vapidly opposed integration of UGA.