Confederate Street Renaming Vote In Fairfax City Deferred To July 12

FAIRFAX, VA — A vote to possibly change 14 streets names in Fairfax City due to their association with slavery, the Confederacy and the "Lost Cause" won't happen Tuesday as originally planned.

According to Fairfax City Council, it has postponed taking any action on the street names until July 12 because a councilmember is unable to participate in the upcoming meeting.

Some critics argue that name changes to more than a dozen streets are necessary because the current ones are divisive and do not reflect the Fairfax City community, which aims to promote inclusiveness.

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• Confederate Street Renaming Receives Input From Fairfax City Residents

"The neighborhood name and street names no longer represent our values. It's time to make a change," Patricia McMurray, a Mosby Woods homeowner, said. "I believe that systemic racism still exists in our country. While I know that changing street names is not going to eliminate systemic racism, it's one small thing that we can do now to show that racism is not OK."

Others see the potential name change as "virtue signaling," costing the city unnecessary money in the end.

"There's not one person who lives on any of these streets that did not know the name of their street or their neighborhood for that matter when they moved there," Francis Dietz, a homeowner, in Mosby Woods said. "But if that somehow escaped their notice for several years, it seems to me rather arrogant to think that their neighbors should pay the price for their inattention."

The streets that face a possible name change include:

• Confederate Lane
• Lee Highway
• Lee Street
• Mosby Woods Drive
• Old Lee Highway
• Mosby Road
• Plantation Parkway
• Stonewall Avenue
• Raider Lane
• Ranger Road
• Reb Street
• Scarlet Circle
• Singleton Circle
• Traveler Street

The public hearing and council action on whether to adopt a new city seal will be held as planned Tuesday. View the June 28 meeting agenda.

City council meetings start at 7 p.m. in city hall and may be viewed on Channel 12 (COX/Verizon) or at fairfaxva.gov.