City Council Votes to Rename Jefferson Davis Highway: What Should the New Name Be?

ALEXANDRIA, VA -- Now that members of the Alexandria City Council unanimously voted Saturday to change the name of Jefferson Davis Highway, a roadway named for the president of the Confederacy during the Civil War, what will the new name be?

The road divides into Patrick and Henry streets and some think the road should be renamed for Patrick Henry, the Virginia lawyer and politician who was one of the leading figures of the American revolutionary war. The community will weigh in on the new name; it will cost $27,000 to replace the signs.

"People seemed to find Jefferson Davis Highway the most egregious," said Mary Lyman, a member of the Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Confederate Memorials and Street Names that studied the issue, before the vote. The Advisory Group received 150 comments through its online feedback form and heard more than 60 speakers at its five public meetings.

The group, which was established by Alexandria City Council in September 2015, submitted its final report and issued recommendations on the four topics City Council directed it to consider, and concluded as follows:

1. The Appomattox statute on South Washington Street should remain in place, with additional efforts made to add context to its story;
2. The name of Jefferson Davis Highway in the City of Alexandria should be changed;
3. Rather than a wholesale renaming of streets in the City named after Confederate figures, individual requests for new names should be considered by City Council if brought under existing processes; and
4. No further action is needed with regard to a specific policy on flying of any flags on property owned or under the control of the City.

"We're a city that puts a strong value on history, this discussion has raised a lot of feelings and the Civil War not only split our nationa but in some cases split families, as I underestand it," Mayor Silberberg said Saturday.

"I hope that today's conversations can continue that dialogue and help us all reach consensus on the best path forward, the mayor said.

The speakers included a former New Yorker who argued that Jefferson Davis was a "tragic hero" who "didn't understand that to some people, slavery was bad." Mayor Silberberg, as well as Councilman John T. Chapman and Willie F. Bailey Sr. pushed back, stating that the speaker was wrong to say that Davis didn't realize

In all, the Council members on Saturday heard from 18 speakers who each took three minutes (and a little more time, for some who went over their limit) who weighed in on the ad hoc group's recommendations before the City Council voted.

As far as the other streets in the City named for Confederate figures, it's uncertain in some cases, who the street is honoring. Lyman noted that people don't know if Lee Street was named for Robert E. Lee or Light-Horse Harry Lee.

For people who feel particularly strongly about a street name, it was suggested that they can petition City Council and those decisions can be made one by one.

The Council plans to put in motion a plan to move the Appomattox statute nearby.

Watch the public hearing here.