Let's talk about Fred Gray, Alabama, and a new south....

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

[Jeebo]

1. They renamed Jeff Davis Ave. in Selma.

In 2009, the Selma City Council renamed Jefferson Davis Avenue in Selma to R.L. Chestnut Jr. Boulevard in honor of the Selma civil rights attorney who was a prominent figure in the civil rights years of the 1960s.

Selma is my hometown and, yes, I am a white guy. I was in the ninth grade in Albert G. Parrish High School in Selma when the Selma-to-Montgomery March happened in March 1965. However, I haven't lived there since 1971. My parents lived there until my father died in 1987, and now, both my parents and an older brother are buried there, and to visit the cemetery is now almost the only reason I have to visit there.

During one of my brief, infrequent visits three or four years ago, I noticed, "Where is Jeff Davis Ave.? " I turned around and drove by there again to have a close look at the street signs. There was no Jeff Davis Ave., but there was an R.L. Chestnut Jr. Blvd. where the street crooks, where I remembered Jeff Davis Ave. being. "What the ... ? Did they rename Jeff Davis Ave.? "

I did a Google search later in my hotel room, and sure enough, that was the Jeff Davis Ave. I remembered, but with a different name. Now, I hear they're going to rename the Edmund Pettus bridge in honor of John Lewis.

I approve of both changes, in case you're wondering. I have changed a lot since I was a white kid growing up in 1950s and 1960s Selma, especially politically and religiously.

I wonder, did somebody have to pay a $25,000 fine to change the name of Jefferson Davis Avenue in 2009?

-- Ron

[LunaSea]

2. The law was created very recently.

I'd like to see Montgomery change a couple of high school names next.
Jeff Davis and R.E. Lee.

Change is slow but it is happening.
Alabama is an odd place to grow up.

[Jeebo]

3. I don't remember a Jeff Davis High School in Montgomery.

The two high schools I remember in Montgomery were Robert E. Lee and Sydney Lanier high schools. Sydney Lanier was, as I recall, a famous poet who was from Montgomery. I remember those two high schools because they were major rivals to my high school, Albert G. Parrish High School. Maybe there is a Jeff Davis High School in Montgomery now, but I have no recollection of it from when I was in high school in the 1960s.

-- Ron

[LunaSea]

4. Built in 1968

In the affluent part of town.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jefferson_Davis_High_School_(Montgomery,_Alabama)

Can't say I've kept up with the place since 78, but just found this out from last year-

The Montgomery County Board of Education voted Tuesday night to change the names of Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, and Sidney Lanier high schools — each named after men who were members of the Confederacy.

Each name change was voted on separately, with District 1's Lesa Keith voting against each. Board President Clare Weil also voted against changing the name of Lanier, where she graduated from.

The district will now request a waiver to the 2017 Alabama Memorial Preservation Act which prevents the renaming or removal of monuments and buildings more than 40 years old without legislative approval. Waivers will be considered by an 11-person committee during its October meeting.

If a waiver is not granted, the district would need to pay a $25,000 fine for each school to move forward with renaming them. District 5's Board Member Jannah Bailey announced during the meeting that over $42,000 has been raised by the Montgomery Moving Forward committee to support paying those fines.


https://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/news/education/2020/07/14/montgomery-high-schools-jefferson-davis-robert-e-lee-sidney-lanier-confederacy-name-changes-board/5433727002/