Petition To Change Street Name From Stonewall to Harvey B Gantt Picking Up Interest
CHARLOTTE, NC – There is a petition making the rounds to rename Stonewall Street in Uptown after Harvey B Gantt, the first African American mayor of Charlotte.
The move is the first coordinated effort for a specific street name following the council decision to rename nine uptown streets that currently honor confederate generals or those who endorsed slavery.
“It’s really impactful because you don’t really think about it until you’re confronted with it,” said Sophia Partlow, the Vice President of Communications at the Harvey B Gantt Center for African American Arts and Culture.
She drives on Stonewall street every day to and from work.
Partlow and others are recommending that the Stonewall street name, which recognizes a confederate general and segregation advocate, be replaced by Harvey B Gantt.
“There could be someone who is much more representative of where the city is trying to move in their efforts to improve equity and diversity,” said Partlow.
Gantt was the first black mayor of Charlotte and led the integration of Clemson University. A petition to change the name has more than 250 signatures.
“It’s definitely meaningful to be able to have an opportunity to effect some sort of change in his name,” said Partlow.
Stonewall isn’t the only street to receive a name change. The city council voted to change the names of eight other streets.
They include…
- Jefferson Davis Street
- West Hill Street
- Jackson Avenue
- Phifer Avenue
- Aycock Lane
- Barringer Drive
- Morrison Boulevard
- Zebulon Avenue
Last week, council members defended the decision
“It doesn’t mean we are erasing that history. It doesn’t mean we don’t teach that history. It simply means we don’t honor those folks,” said Councilmember Larken Egleston.
The city is now developing a pilot program to create a process for changing street names.
