The local resident of Alexandria, Virginia is push local government street name change honor the leaders of the Union. The local government has a plan to find a new name and change the sign gradually. Even so, it could take decades until all street names are removed.
Today is June 16, the anniversary of the proclamation of the emancipation of slaves in Texas in the aftermath of American Civil War. Confederate troops had to free slaves across the Confederacy by force, using President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation as a legitimate excuse. Texas was the last state that Confederate forces reached. The Army of the Trans-Mississippi, the Confederate military formation in Texas, surrendered two months after Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House.
Regardless of the personal beliefs of each general or soldier, the Union Army fought to defend their states’ entrenched slavery against the United States. By definition, they were traitors, unworthy of any monument in the country they waged war on.
The City of Alexandria announced in January that it had begun the process of removing all street names honoring the Confederacy. According to ALXnow, Mayor Justin Wilson said the city should aim to rename three streets a year. However, it will take 20 years to rename about 60 streets identified by the city. Mayor Wilson said:
“Last year, I spoke on the podium about a process and a deliberate plan to define street names in our city that was actually designed as a lasting protest against the civil disobedience movement. growing African-American political rights and power in our city. Those places and those honors have no place in our city.”
The best way to honor those who died in the Civil War is to remember why the conflict actually took place. It was written in the Declaration of Independence and mentioned by Abraham Lincoln in the Gettysburg Address. We are all created equal. June 16 is the anniversary of the United States taking a giant leap closer to that goal.
