In a milestone in state civil rights history, the Florida Senate Education Committee on March 12 voted 6-1 to approve a bill that would remove BK Roberts’ name from the FSU law school’s main classroom building. The bill would repeal the 1973 law that put Roberts’ name on the edifice and send the issue back to the university to decide on a new name. The bill must still be approved by the full senate and the house and signed by the governor before it takes effect.
Several law students and citizens spoke to the committee in favor of the bill while only one person spoke against it; the only senator to vote against the bill was Sen. Dennis Baxley (R-Ocala), an FSU grad who opposed what he saw as a politically correct movement to rewrite history. The FSU general counsel offered support for the bill on behalf of the university.
Details about the bill and the vote can be found here: https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2019/07076/?Tab=BillHistory