The city of Austin’s Equity Office has suggested renaming the city to depart from its Confederate history, The Austin American Statesman reported Friday.
The city is named after Stephen F. Austin, otherwise known as the “Father of Texas,” who founded the city in 1839. Austin opposed efforts by Mexico to abolish slavery in the Tejas province, and once said freed slaves would become “vagabonds, a nuisance and a menace.”
The Equity Office also suggested name changes for city streets honoring the Confederacy or Confederate leaders, including slave owner William Barton, nicknamed the “Daniel Boone of Texas.”
Since the 2015 massacre of nine African Americans at the “Mother Emmanuel” church in Charleston, S.C., 113 Confederate symbols have been removed nationwide (1,740 still stand).
Any changes would need to be approved by the Texas Historical Commission, and a change to the city’s name would likely require an election, per the Statesman.
The report also highlighted Dixie Drive, Confederate Avenue, Littlefield Street, Tom Green Street, Sneed Cove, Reagan Hill Drive and Plantation Road.
The Equity Office’s report concluded that it was "essential to acknowledge that societal values are fluid, and they can be and are different today compared to when our city made decisions to name and/or place these Confederate symbols in our community.
“It is also important to acknowledge that nearly all monuments to the Confederacy and its leaders were erected without a true democratic process. People of color often had no voice and no opportunity to raise concerns about the city’s decision to honor Confederate leaders.”
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