Multi-Use-Building Rebranded in Honor of Harry Britt
by John R. Adkins
jradproduction@gmail.com
The City College community will not forget the life and contributions of former San Francisco Supervisor and activist Harry Britt.
On the morning of Feb. 14, employees of Integrated Sign Installations pried the gold letters from the building at 55 Frida Kahlo Way, discarding the former title of Multi-Use Building, and effectively renaming the structure to Harry Britt Building.
The Harry Britt Building, formerly MUB, is most noted for being the meeting place of Trustees. As the work of local politicians is so intricately tied to the politics of City College, so is Britt’s legacy tied to the many Trustees who championed his values on the college’s oversight board.
On Dec. 7, 2023, the Board of Trustees unanimously approved the proposal to rename the City College building in honor of the former supervisor. Discussions about the renaming began shortly after Britt’s passing on June 24, 2020.
Nearly five years later, that idea has finally been realized. Former Chancellor David Martin said in 2023 that this was the college’s first opportunity to implement its process of renaming a building. However, this aligns with City College’s tradition of honoring artists, civil rights activists and members of the LGBTQ community. In 2018, the City College community voted to rename Phelan Avenue after bisexual Mexican artist Frida Kahlo.
City College is also the historic home of the first queer studies department in the United States.
Britt was committed to carrying on the legacy of his predecessor and mentor, former supervisor Harvey Milk. Like Milk, Britt mentored countless activists and LGBTQ people running for public office, among them were members of the Board of Trustees and the greater City College community.
Former Supervisor Tom Amiano and former Trustee Tim Wolfred, both close to Britt, proposed renaming a City College building before former Trustees Shannell Williams, Tom Temprano and Alex Randolph – all members of the LGBTQ community – introduced the resolution to begin the process on July 30, 2020.
“What is most meaningful to me about this opportunity is that it will ensure that future students, staff and visitors to City College have the opportunity to learn a little bit about a person who many of us on this board have had the privilege of getting to actually know while he was here, and while he was out there advocating for us as candidates or other progressive causes,” Temprano said.
Britt also encouraged Wolfred to run for a seat on the City College board. Wolfred went on to serve for 14 years as the first openly gay City College Trustee.
Mayor Diane Feinstein appointed Britt to the Board of Supervisors following the assassination of Harvey Milk in 1979. Britt was then elected to the Board of Supervisors four times before serving as its president from 1989 to 1991. During his congressional run in 1987, Britt narrowly lost to Nancy Pelosi.
During his time on the Board of Supervisors, he championed progressive causes in San Francisco, including rent control and increased civilian oversight of the police department.
He also worked to build upon the alliance between gay and labor communities that his predecessor, Harvey Milk, had started.
“For the legions of those he helped and inspired, this naming is a welcome tribute. As committed as he was to carry through with Harvey Milk’s legacy, he often confessed his first love was classroom teaching,” Ammiano said.
As an educator, he worked to make college degrees more attainable for those who felt alienated by traditional education paths.
The resolution put forward by the board stated that “Britt’s actions and activism embodied a persistent and courageous dedication to our union values and wishes to uphold for ourselves, our students, and the City College of San Francisco community.”
Both the Harvey Milk Club, initially founded by Britt, and AFT2121 came out in support of the resolution.
The college’s press release from 2023 stated that it plans to “commemorate the life and work of Harry Britt in a meaningful way so that students, staff and visitors can learn more about his contributions to San Francisco and the larger LGBTQIA and progressive movements.”
“The greatest opportunity in this is not just naming a building after Harry, but about using that as a tool to teach about the work he did…and what he stood for,” Temprano said. “He advocated for the folks who are students, the people in SF who need champions, and who need institutions like City College.”