After backlash, Jeff Bezos suggests naming library auditorium for Toni Morrison
From
Earlier this week D.C. filmmaker James Schneider projected an image on a building in Adams Morgan expressing opposition to a planned naming of an auditorium in the MLK Library after Jeff Bezos. Courtesy of/James Schneider hide caption
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has asked the D.C. Public Library to name an auditorium in the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library after famed late Black author Toni Morrison, instead of after him.
The request — first reported by The Washington Post — is an apparent response to growing criticism over last week's decision by library trustees to name it after Bezos in recognition of a $2.7 million donation he made to a childhood literacy program.
In an email sent Thursday night to Rob Hartman, the executive director of the D.C. Public Library Foundation, Bezos expressed his appreciation that library trustees had voted to name the auditorium after him. But he also added that he would understand if they chose to go with someone else.
"As you know, I never sought naming rights associated with my gift to the library. When you subsequently informed me it was the largest gift in the library's history and offered to name the auditorium the Bezos Auditorium, I was honored and grateful. Since then, some in the community have suggested a person of color would be more appropriate as a name for the auditorium, especially as it sits inside the Martin Luther King Jr. library. That makes considerable sense to me," wrote Bezos.
"So, I'm writing here to ask if you would consider naming the auditorium the Toni Morrison Auditorium instead of naming it after me. Toni Morrison was a dear friend who I admired greatly. One of my fondest memories is sitting on her porch for hours on a lazy, warm afternoon, eating lunch, sipping vodka, and exchanging stories. At that time, her health was already declining but her mind was as agile as ever, as was her sense of humor. She was a remarkable woman and a legendary, groundbreaking author. I feel she would be a perfect namesake for the auditorium," he added.
The recommendation that the auditorium be named after Bezos had initially been made by DCPL Executive Director Richard Reyes-Gavilan, who said that Bezos's late-December gift was the largest donation in the library system's history. It was set to fund Beyond The Book, "a transformational program that allows the D.C. Public Library to reach children ages 5-8."
But news of the board's decision prompted almost immediate criticism from elected officials, activists, and library users who said Bezos's labor practices and wealth — he is among the richest people on the planet — contradicted some of Dr. King's beliefs and activism.
This week, the MLK Library Friends and Mt. Pleasant Library Friends sent letters to Reyes-Gavilan urging him to reverse the decision. A separate campaign has directed almost 18,000 other letters to library trustees saying the auditorium's naming after Bezos was "disrespectful to the legacy of Dr. King and would also cause hurt and harm to D.C.'s Black community."
D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson offered his own take, opining that maybe the auditorium's naming was offered for too little money. "My first reaction was... $2.7 million, that's not a lot," he said on Monday. "The library system better hold out for a higher price."
In a statement, Reyes-Gavilan said he would be reaching out to Morrison's family about naming the auditorium after her instead of Bezos.
"We are thrilled that Jeff Bezos has recommended that the MLK auditorium be named for Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison," he said. "We could not think of a better individual to be honored in our beautiful new building. We look forward to reaching out to the Morrison family for their support."
This story is from DCist.com, the local news site of WAMU.