Change Name Of Confederate Avenue In Atlanta, Says Ex-Gov Roy Barnes

MARIETTA, GA --Former Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes says that Confederate Avenue in East Atlanta should be changed due to the street being the home of the state patrol. The former Georgia leader's thoughts come as Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed contemplates the future of the city's Confederate reminders.

In an impassioned letter posted on the website of his Marietta law firm, Barnes spoke in pointed terms about the wide-ranging events over the past week, from Charlottesville, Va., to President Donald Trump's initial response to it.

Barnes said that racial politics was a sickness that could be deadly if not dealt with. "Judging others by their race and the use of race in politics is a cancer, and it will infect and kill the body politic unless we control its deadly spread. What happened in Charlottesville was appalling and evidence of pure racial hate."

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He took special time to lay into Trump, who's "many sides" response caused an uproar across the land. "Our national leader failed miserably in his responsibility to rise to the occasion and articulate the premise ingrained in our national ethos that all men are in fact created equal. He did not appeal to the better side of us."

While a debate rages across the South on how to deal with Confederate monuments -- short of just ripping them down -- Barnes stressed a nuanced approach to the issue.

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"Confederate Avenue in Atlanta running in front of the State Patrol in my mind should be changed," he said. "It sends the wrong message that the police power of the state is located on a street associated with slavery and suppression."

"Further, Confederate memorials should be a teaching point on how good intentioned people can become so blind in their views that blood is shed," Barnes said. "The memorials should not all be destroyed or taken down, but the full story should be told."

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Image via Alex Wong / Staff / Getty Images News