Richland leaders agree to consider changing street named for Confederate general
Richland city leaders agreed to take a closer look at changing the name of a street named for the controversial Confederate Army general Robert E. Lee.
Richland Mayor Ryan Lukson and two council members, Sandra Kent and Brad Anderson, said at Tuesday night’s council meeting that they want to hear more from the community on renaming Lee Boulevard.
But how and when that will happen wasn’t decided.
Nearly 2,000 people signed an online petition in the past week demanding the change. The organizer, Kennewick resident Tyler Hogg, said symbols from the Confederacy are rallied around by white supremacists.
“Confederate symbols are not about heritage or history,” he wrote. “Confederate symbols are about hate. Robert E. Lee was a Confederate general and the only place his name belongs is in museums and history books, not on our street signs.”
There has been a surge of renewed outrage nationwide over statutes, Confederate flags and much more in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests following the death of Gerorge Floyd, a Black man, in police custody in Minneapolis.
At Tuesday’s council meeting, Lukson said he thought it odd to name a street after someone who betrayed his country, and he wants more public input on the issue.
“I think there are varying opinions,” he said. “It is weird to me at a conceptual state that we have something named after a Confederate soldier.”
Kent called for a “community conversation” about picking a name for the street that is reflective of the area’s culture and history.
Anderson agreed with the idea, but wanted to make sure they listen to “every single side.”
Robert E. Lee abandoned a successful career in the U.S. Army to lead the Confederate Army during the U.S. Civil War. Lee’s decision to support a rebellion based on perpetuating slavery has left several community members concerned that the name sends the wrong message about Richland.
Richland resident Susan Dobkins said changing the name is an opportunity for the city council to show that it doesn’t support racism. She criticized Lee as a traitor to his country.
“Actions do speak louder,” Richland resident Erik Nicholson said. “We need to get rid of these racist names and rename with names that are consistent with our values.”
He called on the city to also rename Smith Avenue, which is named after G.W. Smith, Lee’s predecessor as general of the Army of Northern Virginia, which was the primary Confederate Army of the Civil War.
Their comments were echoed by most of the rest of the people who spoke at Tuesday night’s city council after the item was brought up during council comments and not officially on the agenda.
Others pointed out during the public comment part of the meeting that it is a relic from a time when people of color weren’t allowed to live in Richland.
History of the name
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Manhattan Engineering District named the streets in the early 1940s after Army officers. Lee was a longtime Army engineer before he sided with the Confederacy.
A sign — installed by a veteran’s group in 2011 — across form Richland HIgh School presents Lee’s history, including the line that Lee became “a potent symbol of regional pride and dignity, and is still held in the same regard today.”
Richland’s Planning and Redevelopment Department came up with the language on the sign.
This is the second time in recent years that the street has been at the center of controversy. In 2017, Richland scientist Martin McBriarty tried to convince the city to rename the street and take down the marker.
After learning it would be difficult to rename the street, he suggested dedicating it after for a “more ethically sound and culturally relevant person by the name of Lee.“ However, no change was made.