CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Stonewall Street in Charlotte's city center will be getting a new name, the city of Charlotte's Legacy Commission announced Wednesday to conclude their initial list of nine streets getting renamed.
Effective June 30, Stonewall Street, which runs through the Second Ward in southeast Uptown Charlotte from Interstate 277 to Bank of America Stadium, will be called Brooklyn Village Avenue.
Earlier this year, the city was collecting public input on new name suggestions.
With the new name, the city commission was looking to honor the legacy of Brooklyn, a predominately Black neighborhood that was home to over a thousand families, 200 businesses and numerous establishments until they were relocated or destroyed by the end of the 1970s, according to a history compiled by UNC Charlotte.
The neighborhood, most of which had its physical presence destroyed by bulldozers decades ago, has become a symbol of Charlotte's ongoing affordable housing crisis. The decision to destroy the neighborhood, which UNC Charlotte researchers linked back to a 1947 zoning decision by Charlotte's all-white planning commission, also serves as a reminder of discriminatory decisions in the city's history.
The Legacy Commission, a 15-person committee appointed by the mayor and city council in 2020, has been making changes "reflective of the inclusive vision it strives to achieve" for the city, according to its online mission statement.
"The Legacy Commission believes that the continued memorialization of slave owners, Confederate leaders, and white supremacists on street signs does not reflect the values that Charlotte upholds today and is a direct affront to descendants of the enslaved and oppressed African Americans who labored to build this city," the statement reads.
There are more than 70 city streets in Charlotte that honor slavery, slave owners, Confederate veterans and supporters of white supremacy or romanticized notions of the antebellum South, according to commission documents. Their highest priority went to changing "streets named for leaders of the Confederacy and white supremacists who actively fought to defend slavery and against racial equality," the commission's 2020 recommendations explained.
The renaming of Stonewall Street in June will conclude the renaming of the nine prioritized streets.
Stonewall Street, which runs through what was once Brooklyn, was named for Confederate General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, according to commission documents. Another street name for the general, Jackson Avenue, was previously renamed by the commission.
The commission documentation denotes defenders of the Stonewall street name have previously argued the street was named not for Thomas but for his wife. The commission found this not to be true.
The commission did acknowledge in their documentation in the cases of some streets, "there was not clear documentation about which individual in a particular family was being honored by the street naming." In this case, the commission was able to make a determinization.
On May 23, Barringer Drive will also be renamed Revolution Park Drive, the city announced Wednesday. Revolution Park Drive honors the history of Revolution Park and the Dr. Charles L. Sifford Golf Course, both successful examples of efforts to desegregate public recreational facilities.
Streets renamed since 2020 include:
- Jefferson Davis Street
- Phifer Avenue
- Jackson Avenue
- Zebulon Avenue
- Aycock Lane
- Hill Street
- Morrison Boulevard
Residents of these streets will need to contact federal and state agencies, including the U.S. Social Security Administration, TSA PreCheck, and the IRS, to notify them of the new address. Residents should also contact private institutions, such as banks, to update their addresses.
The address on a driver's license does not need to change until the license is renewed upon its expiration date.
The city of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County will automatically update resident addresses on city and county services including voter registration, schools, and tax collection.