Bloomberg Chairman Votes To Keep UNC Building Named After Ku Klux Klan Leader

Gonzalo Fuentes / Reuters

The chairman of Bloomberg L.P., Peter Grauer, voted today against changing the name of a building on the campus of the University of North Carolina that was named after a one-time Ku Klux Klan leader.

Grauer, who has chaired the board of the media giant since 2001, voted against a proposal to change the name of Saunders Hall, whose namesake, William Saunders, is recognized by the university to have been a significant Ku Klux Klan organizer. The proposal passed 10-3, and the building will be renamed "Carolina Hall."

Student activists at UNC had pushed heavily for the name change, saying the hall's name contributed to a culture of racism on campus. They protested at a March board meeting with signs that said "Black Lives Matter" and "Kick Out the KKK," according to the Raleigh News Observer. A wide swath of the student body had supported the name change.

William L. Saunders "graduated from UNC in 1854 and then practiced law in Salisbury, North Carolina. During the Civil War, he served as a colonel and was wounded in two battles," says a bio on UNC's own website. "In 1869-1870, he became known as the chief organizer of the Ku Klux Klan in North Carolina and Chapel Hill."

Neither Grauer nor a representative for Bloomberg L.P. responded to a request for comment.

Even trustees who eventually voted for the name changes seemed unimpressed by the attention paid to the issue. One who voted in favor, Alston Gardner, told students now was the time to "direct your passion on more substantial issues,” the News Observer reported, such as the “sorry state of black men" at the university.