Robert C. Byrd's name removed from a college health center

A private college in West Virginia said Wednesday it is removing the name of the late U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd from its health center, saying his name had caused “divisiveness and pain" without explicitly noting his complicated past on racial matters.

Byrd was a member of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1940s but subsequently denounced the organization. He served in the Senate for 51 years and died in 2010 at age 92.

Bethany College President Tamara Rodenberg said on the school's website that Byrd's name will be removed from the college's Robert C. Byrd Health Center “to demonstrate Bethany College’s capacity to change, to listen, and to learn.”

Bethany's statement did not specifically mention Byrd's past ties to the Klan.

Read more: https://www.whsv.com/content/news/Robert-C-Byrds-name-removed-from-a-college-health-center-571345761.html