LYNCHBURG, Va. – Lynchburg city leaders hosted a virtual town hall Wednesday to discuss how they should honor African American history in the Hill City.
Over the last several months, the city council has discussed the possibility of permanently renaming Fifth Street, which was given the honorary designation of Doctor Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in 2005.
The four options are:
- Leave the street as its current honorary designation
- Add on the connecting two-mile stretch of Memorial Avenue and rename both streets after Dr. King
- Only rename Fifth Street permanently
- Rename the entire road after an individual from Lynchburg
Along with 400 responses from a public survey, city leaders wanted feedback on other ways to honor local, prominent African Americans.
JoAnn Martin, director of communications and public engagement for the city of Lynchburg, hoped the town hall would be a way to educate citizens.
“A lot of people don’t know the rich history that African Americans have had in Lynchburg. So, you know [poet and civil rights activist] Anne Spencer and things like that, but a lot of people don’t know about the others,” said Martin.
The corridor is the heart of African American history in the city and now they need to decide what to do moving forward.
“This conversation isn’t really about changing history, it’s really to move forward so that we can unify and unite what was to what is,” Legacy Museum of African American History board director Ramona Battle said.
To move toward the future the group covered the past, reviewing old images of businesses along the street and getting an update on what remains still standing. Alvin Elliot of the Fifth Street Community Development Corporation spoke about the group’s work to push progress.
“We have participated in trying to stabilize some of the buildings along the corridor, in the event that they are made useable,” Elliot said.
The question also came up if more options can be presented. The group also talked about the fact that they can honor others in other ways.
“It was not only 5th Street, Black people have contributed all over the city of Lynchburg so why should we relegate ourselves to one particular area,” community activist Pat Price said.
The city will take the survey responses and the feedback from the town hall to help shape a decision moving forward.
“So it’s a real difficult discussion to come up with an answer that everybody’s going to be satisfied with,” Battle said.
You can watch replay the virtual town hall here.