LEXINGTON, VA. – On Thursday night the City of Lexington hosted a public comment session for its proposal to rename Confederate-themed streets.
Council members read submitted comments for more than an hour with numerous people in favor of both sides.
Council did not approve a plan at the meeting but did like the idea of re-naming just one street to start.
Councilman Dennis Ayers and others liked starting with New Market Street.
“And it’s painfully ironic that the last trip for people who are buried, in the historically black cemetery Evergreen, their last trip on earth has to be on a street named after a Confederate battle victory,” Ayers said.
The city is proposing a list of requirements for a change, like requiring a majority vote of residents on the street.
There’s another public hearing scheduled for mid-April.