LeFrak Halls questionable namesake

After researching university buildings more information is revealed

By: Taylor Stark
The University of Maryland prides itself upon diversity and breaking racial barriers,
however some buildings controversial namesakes still exist on campus. Under President Lohs
leadership the university has addressed this issue recently by building a Fredrick Douglass statue
and renaming Byrd Stadium. However, some buildings are named after historical figures with
questionable ideals who are not as well known, such as LeFrak Hall.
LeFrak Hall is located on South Campus and is named after Samuel J. LeFrak, which was
renamed in 1982. LeFrak attended the University of Maryland during his undergraduate studies
and later studied finance at Columbia University. His family owned the very well known LeFrak
organization, which built over 200,000 apartment complexes in poor areas of New York. The
organization continued to thrive once LeFrak graduated and took over the company.
The LeFrak organization reached monumental success, however
questions about the organizations intent remained. According to Race and
Politics of Place, in 1972 the U.S. Justice Department filed a housing
discrimination suit against the LeFrak organization charging that it had
discriminated against blacks in the renting of apartments owned by the
company in Brooklyn and Queens. This lawsuit brought

Samuel J Lefrak
(Photo by anb.org)

mass attention to LeFrak and his organization.

In response, the LeFrak organization implemented a plan to end discrimination by African
Americans relocating into mostly white buildings. They would also receive free rent for a month.

However, there have been other lawsuits against the organization ranging from racism to
sexism against women. Many believe that these racist ideals should not be tolerated, however
others argue that his personal ideals should not take away from the legacy he left.
There are mixed feelings amongst Maryland students regarding LeFrak Hall. When asked
about the building, Paige Padmore, a government and politics major said, as a women of color,
this is frustrating and certainly does not represent the university well. Overall, she spoke upon
her positive experiences at Maryland.
Padmore also added, buildings named after people that had racist ideals does not sit
well with many students.
However, not all people agree with this opinion. Sheila Brown, an alumni, explained,
LeFrak left a legacy at Maryland and has given back to the school with a lot of money. I
understand this is a sensitive topic at the university, but I see both sides. These heated situations
lead to many problems with administration for universities
nationwide.
Should the university consider renaming yet another
academic building? The question regarding how far the
LeFrak Hall
(Photo by it.umd.edu)

university should go when renaming buildings is becoming

more imperative to answer as political correctness is more

important now than ever before.