The lobby of the West Building at Hunter College came alive with laughter, applause, and smiling faces partly covered by masks. The seats were full; half of the 200 or so attendees stood wherever they could find space. The room buzzed with people of all ages chatting about the celebration. It was May 10, 2022, the day alumna Audre Lorde (’59) was to be honored with a street sign bearing her name.
At the intersection of Lexington Avenue and 68th Street on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, workers prepared to remove the old green street signs and replace them with ones reading “Audre Lorde Way,” for the poet, feminist, mother, and educator who blazed a trail for women and people of color, helping to raise awareness about civil rights, women’s struggles, and the LGBTQ+ community. Lorde began her studies at Hunter in 1954 and studied library science before earning her master’s degree in that field, in 1961, from Columbia University. She died of cancer, at age 58, in 1992.
One by one, speakers from all segments of Lorde’s life, as well as those who were influenced by her words, took to the microphone to describe her impact.
Jennifer Raab, the president of Hunter College, began by saying that it was a “privilege” to be there and quoted Lorde: “Poetry is not only dream and vision. It is an architecture of our lives.”
She thanked those who made the ceremony happen, including the Roosevelt House, the New York City Council, and individuals who contributed time, effort, and ideas.
Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez said of Lorde: “As student and a teacher – and, of course, as a remarkably brilliant poet and impassioned, relentless human rights advocate – she raised awareness and broke down barriers with both her writing and her advocacy.”
Over the course of the hour, the power of Lorde’s words and advocacy was evident; her work as a Black feminist put diversity and inclusion at the forefront of education.
At the end of the event, the crowd moved to the intersection just outside Hunter’s West Building to take pictures beneath the newly installed street sign. Everyone beamed ear to ear, delighted to see Lorde getting the recognition from her alma mater she so deserves.
