Audre Lorde and William Shakespeare (Creative Commons/Wikimedia)
The Bard is apparently too old school for English students at the University of Pennsylvania.
A portrait of William Shakespeare was removed from Fisher-Bennett Hall and replaced with a photo of Audre Lorde, a black female writer, it was reported Tuesday.
English Department Chair Jed Esty announced the switch in an email he sent to students and faculty last week, the Daily Pennsylvanian reported.
“Students removed the Shakespeare portrait and delivered it to my office as a way of affirming their commitment to a more inclusive mission for the English department,” he wrote.
The English Department had voted years ago to relocate and replace the classical writer’s portrait with something more modern and diverse, but apparently never got around to it.
The hottest stories ripped from the headlines, from crime to courts, legal and scandal.
