Earlier this week, the Hollywood City (Fla.) Commission voted to move forward with plans to change streets named after Confederate generals, that, perhaps coincidentally or not, lie in the heart of the city’s African-American neighborhood.
According to the Miami Herald, the commission voted on two key measures. One measure will have the city waive its policy of conducting a poll of residents that would be affected by the name change to avoid any tensions. Commissioner Richard Blattner, who proposed the measure noted that if the commission takes the poll and most people don’t want the street names changed, but they go ahead with the name change anyway, it would look as if the commissioners are not taking residents’ opinions into consideration.
The second measure, proposed by Vice mayor Traci Callari called for a dual-naming system for the streets over two years so people could get used to the new names, before the old names of “Lee,” “Forrest” and “Hood” completely disappear.
The streets were named after Generals Robert E. Lee, John Bell Hood and Nathan Bedford Forrest.
The commission will vote on the overall issue on Aug. 30.
“I’m looking forward to celebrating on Aug. 30 when we finally vote on the street names officially being changed,’’ Esther Pereira, a resident and a BlackLivesMatter activist told the Herald.
“It is time to change the names and the time is now. Hollywood has a proud history as a multicultural and non-discriminatory city and we the commission have an obligation to ensure that legacy to our residents in a consistent and timely manner,” Commissioner Debra Case said on Monday. “We must do the right thing. And we must do it now. In conclusion, I support the street name change of Forrest, Lee and Hood.”
Read more at the Miami Herald.
