Attorney’s name removed from law building due to KKK ties

TULSA, Okla. (AP) – The name of a founder of the University of Tulsa law school will be removed from campus because of his ties to the Ku Klux Klan.

The private school issued a statement saying trustees voted Wednesday in a closed-door meeting to remove John Rogers’ name from the law school building.

Rogers was an attorney and philanthropist who helped found the law school in 1943, served for years as its unpaid dean and was a trustee for decades.

Rogers also helped incorporate the KKK-affiliated Tulsa Benevolent Association. It was founded months after the 1921 Tulsa race riot that left about 300 black residents dead and a thriving section of downtown – known as Black Wall Street – decimated.

The proposal to remove Rogers’ name has been applauded by civil rights groups.