University of Texas Reconsiders Dorm Named After Former KKK Leader

University of Texas Reconsiders Dorm Named After Former KKK Leader

Simkins Residence Hall is the last all-male dormitory at the University of Texas. Tucked into a quiet corner of campus along Waller Creek, it was the first men's dorm with air conditioning at the school.

It is notable for another reason as well: Simkins is named for a UT law professor who was a leader of the Ku Klux Klan.William Stewart Simkins, who taught at the School of Law for 30 years until his death in 1929, organized the Klan in Florida after the Civil War along with his brother, Eldred, who later became a member of the UT System Board of Regents.

Now, 55 years after opening the dorm, the university is about to begin a review that could result in the removal of Simkins' name from the building.

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