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Atlanta’s Confederate Avenue Set To Get New Name

October 2nd, 2018

Opposition to the Confederate Avenue name was renewed following the violent white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, last year.

David Goldman / Associated Press file

The Atlanta City Council voted unanimously Monday to change the name of Confederate Avenue to United Avenue.

The street, in southeast Atlanta, has been the object of complaints for years. But opposition to the name was renewed following the violent white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, last year.

By this summer, neighbors had gathered enough signatures to present to City Council member Carla Smith.

An online petition for the change had attracted more than 10,000 signers. After a series of public meetings, the name United Avenue was chosen. Another nearby street, Confederate Court, would be renamed Trestletree Court.

Smith sponsored the legislation and called it “the beginning” of initiatives like this.

“Yeah, I’m already working on some other things,” she said.

This is the first major action to come of the recommendations of the commission former Mayor Kasim Reed tasked with evaluating Atlanta’s Confederate monuments and memorials last November.

Smith said she expects Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms to sign the measure, and it would then become effective on Jan. 21, Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

“That’s a special day for us here in Atlanta,” she said.

That date was chosen by the neighbors and allows time for the formalities like signage changes and official address changes.