Title
Legacy Commission Recommendations
Action
Action:
Approve the Great Neighborhoods Committee recommendation to approve and begin implementation of the revised Legacy Commission recommendations.
Body
Committee Chair:
Malcolm Graham, Great Neighborhoods Chair
Staff Resource(s):
Tiffany Blackwell, Strategy and Budget
Pamela Wideman, Housing and Neighborhood Services
Explanation
§ In July 2020, the Legacy Commission was established with the charge of engaging in a comprehensive study of street names and monuments in the City of Charlotte that honor a legacy of Confederate soldiers, slaveowners, and segregationists.
§ The Legacy Commission developed its recommendations for City Council through a detailed historical examination of the naming of streets and monuments and a detailed historical explanation of all recommended changes.
§ At the December 14, 2020 City Council Business Meeting, the Legacy Commission presented its final report, including recommendations for Council’s consideration.
§ Recommendations by the Legacy Commission include changing street names and reimagining civic spaces to create a new symbolic landscape that is representative of the dynamic and diverse city Charlotte has become and reflective of the inclusive vision it strives to achieve. Additional information can be found on the city’s website at <https://charlottenc.gov/Mayor/Pages/Legacy-Commission.aspx>.
§ Public input was collected through surveys and a public hearing conducted during the January 4, 2021 City Council Business Meeting.
§ At the January 11, 2021 City Council Annual Strategy Meeting, the Legacy Commission’s recommendations were referred to the Great Neighborhoods Committee for consideration.
Committee Discussion
§ On January 20, 2021, the Great Neighborhoods Committee voted to recommend adoption of the Legacy Commission recommendations to full Council with a revision to include a pilot case to develop a process for changing the name of a street. (Bokhari, Eiselt, Graham, and Watlington for; Winston opposed)
Next Steps
§ Next steps include:
- Develop a pilot program that outlines a process for changing street names,
- Support neighborhoods and developers’ efforts that petition name changes based on ties to slavery, the Confederacy, white supremacy, or glorification of the Antebellum South,
- Submit the Mellon Foundation funding application,
- Connect and support with efforts to install the lynching memorial from the National Memorial for Peace and Justice that commemorates the deaths of Joe McNeely and Willie McDaniel, the two documented lynching’s in Charlotte, and
- Analyze impact of the remaining proposed recommendations to Charlotte residents and city policies.
Attachments
Attachment(s)
Legacy Commission Recommendations Overview
December 14, 2020 Business Meeting Presentation
Legacy Commission Final Report