Raleigh, N.C. — Raleigh City Council approved changing the name of Aycock Street to Roanoke Park Drive on Tuesday.
The road runs from Glenwood Avenue to Reaves Drive in the historic Five Points neighborhood. The road signs are expected to be changed on July 1.
Charles Aycock was a North Carolina governor and segregationist whose name also was removed from a building on the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill campus in 2020.
"He was a North Carolina politician and state leader who was elected in 1900," said Harry Watson, a University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill professor of history.
Watson said he grew up seeing the politician's name.
"I, myself, attended Charles B. Aycock Junior High School in Greensboro. I grew up there, so Charles Aycock is part of my life, like he is in the life of thousands of North Carolina-born adults in this state," said Watson.
Watson said when Aycock was governor, he used racism, poll taxes and literacy tests to suppress poor Black and white people from voting.
"They said the only way to preserve white supremacy is to throw them out and vote Democratic, and that's what happened," he explained.
A petition to change the street name was signed by 36 of 76 property owners in the area.
"I think in the wake of George Floyd's murder and the protests that followed, hopefully many of us, it not all of us, looked for ways to improve racial equity in the community and this is one real obvious way," said Stephen Mangano, who lives on Aycock Street.
Mangano spearheaded the name change for Aycock Street.
"It sends a message that history will remember your actions and there are opportunities to find ways to bridge gaps and offer inclusion to all citizens," said Mangano.
Other Raleigh residents want to change the name of Ruffin Street, named after former state Supreme Court chief justice and white supremacist Thomas Ruffin, who ruled that someone shouldn't be held criminally liable for assaulting an enslaved person. Some in Hillsborough also want their Ruffin Street to be renamed.
While some don't want the change for historical reasons or address changes, Watson said this is a step in the right direction.
"I think we need to pay close attention to North Carolina's history of disenfranchisement and make sure we never do it again," he added.
"street" - Google News
May 05, 2021 at 11:01PM
https://ift.tt/2PS2t3v
Raleigh City Council approves renaming of Aycock Street in Five Points - WRAL.com
"street" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2Ql4mmJ
Shoes Man Tutorial
Pos News Update
Meme Update
Korean Entertainment News
Japan News Update
No comments:
Post a Comment