Hunter College Students and Alumni! 

The 150th Anniversary of Hunter College coincides with the emergence of Black Lives Matter as the largest civil and human rights movement in history. CUNY must seize the opportunity that this presents by renaming Hunter's West Building for Audre Lorde. At this formative moment for racial justice in our society, CUNY must use its naming rights to elevate an alumna, artist and activist who reflects the multiply diverse backgrounds of the student population--in terms of race, class, gender, sexuality, immigrant parentage--and who used her art to change their world. This requires the CUNY Chancellor's support and the willingness of the CUNY Board of Trustees to forego the usual procedures and donation levels for naming buildings.

One of the most celebrated American poets, essayists and activists of the 20th century, Lorde was an alumna of Hunter College High School and Hunter College (1959), a member of the Hunter College Alumni Hall of Fame, and the Distinguished Thomas Hunter Chair and (beloved) professor of English at Hunter College from 1981 until 1986. By renaming the West Building after Lorde, we would not only honor our most illustrious student-turned-professor, but we would also proclaim her values as the University’s own in this pivotal moment in the life of the institution and of our society. To honor Lorde in such a visible and monumental way would set the tone for Hunter’s next 150 years. Honoring her would speak volumes about our commitment to the anti-racist, feminist, openly lesbian, and highly humanistic worldview that she so artfully espoused. Almost thirty years after her death,  Lorde remains a guiding spirit for artists, educators, and activists the world over. CUNY must proudly claim and celebrate this global icon of art and activism by naming Hunter's West Building after Audre Lorde. 

In a speech delivered at UCLA, Audre Lorde spoke these inspiring words: “I think we all believe that change is inevitable. I don’t think we all agree what changes need to take place. But I ask you: How are you working for that change? You have a real responsibility. And it doesn’t have to be the way the person next to you is working for it. Wherever we are, wherever I find myself, there is something that needs to be done. And each one of us has got to learn how to put ourselves behind what has to be done wherever we are. Wherever we are”.  

We are at CUNY. We need to do what has to be done.