BLM Ave. proposal hits a roadblock
Committee on the matter to be formed
The plan to change the name of a part of Poplar Avenue to Black Lives Matter Avenue hit a roadblock on Tuesday.
The Memphis City Council opted to defer if there should be a Black Lives Matter Avenue and where that should be to a citizen renaming committee. The council created that committee Tuesday.
The original plan, the one offered by the measure’s sponsor, Michalyn Easter-thomas, was for the council to ask the Memphis and Shelby County Land-use Control Board to rename a stretch of Poplar Avenue between Front Street and Danny Thomas Boulevard in short order.
Easter-thomas also proposed a citizen renaming committee that would study Memphis parks, streets and other places and determine what should be renamed, which the rest of the council approved and heartily endorsed with some modifications.
In committee, where initial votes on issues before the council are often taken, Chairwoman Patrice Robinson proposed that, instead of Poplar Avenue, Manassas Street, between Union and Madison avenues, bear the name Black Lives Matter Avenue instead.
The street bears the name of two Confederate victories during the Civil War. It passes what used to be Nathan Bedford Forrest Park, named for the Confederate cavalryman, slave trader and Ku Klux Klan member. The park still has the bones of Forrest and his wife.
Robinson then proposed that the stretch of Poplar in question bear the name of the late Rep. John Lewis, the noted civil rights leader who died this weekend. Easter-thomas preferred
the symbolism of Black Lives Matter Avenue being outside 201 Poplar — the Shelby County Criminal Justice Center — as well as the James Meredith Building, which houses the Shelby County Election Commission and Jury Commission.
So, a compromise was offered. Councilwoman Cheyenne Johnson proposed the matter go to the just-created renaming committee for study. That passed in committee and the renaming committee was approved by council, meaning the legislation that would’ve renamed Poplar will be sent to them as a suggestion and likely won’t be voted on by council during a full meeting.
Renaming committee
The committee formed by the council could have its members appointed in the coming weeks. It would consist of 15 members. Here are some of the other qualifications members have to have, according to council documents.
• Each appointed voting member of the Commission shall have a demonstrable record of experience within education, civil rights, law, business, nonprofit, or faith-based organizations.
• Each appointed voting member of the Commission shall have a demonstrable record of scholarship, formal or informal, regarding the history and geography of the City of Memphis, especially in relation to historically underrepresented, and underserved, communities.
• All appointed members shall be confirmed by Council motion
When the board concludes its work, it would give a report to the council on why something should be renamed. If another tweak to the Memphis code of ordinances is made, the power to rename streets would rest with the council. An ordinance to changing city code to that effect was first read on Tuesday. It needs two more votes to pass.
As the council voted on the renaming committee, Councilman Worth Morgan noted that the Tennessee Historical Commission may have oversight of renaming efforts in certain cases and those joining the committee should temper their expectations.
“Not everything is in our power,” Morgan said.
Samuel Hardiman can be reached by email at samuel.hardiman@commercialappeal.com.