CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte City Council unanimously agreed to recommendations made by the Charlotte Legacy Commission, including changing several street names that are rooted reminders of a painful part of history.
In December, the commission recommended renaming nine streets that honored Confederate leaders and officers, as well as figures who actively fought against equality. This included any vocal advocates of post-Civil War white supremacy, political candidates or figures who campaigned on a platform supporting white supremacy and elected officials who supported and implemented Jim Crow laws.
The streets are Jefferson Davis Street, West Hill Street, Stonewall Street, Jackson Avenue, Phifer Avenue, Aycock Lane, Barringer Drive, Morrison Boulevard, and Zebulon Avenue. Those streets are named after Confederate leaders and soldiers, slave owners, or white supremacists, according to Charlotte historians and the commission's report.
"It's time to change the name of the street," said Stephanie Steele, who lives on Jefferson Davis Street. "Jefferson Davis is gone and dead and buried, OK? Let somebody else's name be on this street."
The Legacy Commission will also work to make sure steps are taken to review possible offensive street names in the future.
"We'll collaborate with CDOT on new city-owned streets to help ensure we do not run across this path again," a spokesperson with the commission said. "In addition, we'll be collaborating with Levine Museum of the New South and land commission to review new street names to make sure they're in accordance with new criteria."