Rename Edmund Pettus Bridge for John Lewis? Some civil rights veterans say no

[TexasTowelie]

Lynda Lowery was just 14 when she was one of hundreds of civil rights marchers beaten on the Edmund Pettus Bridge on March 7, 1965, an event forever known as Bloody Sunday. She got seven stitches over her right eye, and 28 on the back of her head.

The memories of the emergency room — the needle; a nurse telling her many of the injured were treated without anesthesia — have only come back to her recently.

“After all these years, the bridge, Bloody Sunday and so forth brings back bad memories,” Lowery, a Selma resident, said in a phone interview on Saturday.

Lowery wept Friday evening on learning of the death of U.S. Rep. John Lewis, whose skull was cracked on the bridge that day. But she opposes efforts to name the bridge after him.

Read more: https://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/news/2020/07/18/rename-edmund-pettus-bridge-john-lewis-some-activists-say-no-selma-alabama-decision/5465094002/

[Eliot Rosewater]

1. Why no? Not gonna read this

[LisaM]

2. Interesting article.

You should read it. It makes several points, not so easy to sum up in one sentence.

[brer cat]

3. It's not very long or painful to read.

The points made are very good.

[PoliticAverse]

4. John Lewis himself said not to rename it...

https://www.al.com/opinion/2015/06/john_lewis_terri_sewell_defend.html

The Edmund Pettus Bridge is an iconic symbol of the struggle for voting rights in America, and its name is as significant as its imposing structure. The historical irony is an integral part of the complicated history of Selma -- a city known for its pivotal role in the Civil War and the civil rights movement.

The Edmund Pettus Bridge symbolizes both who we once were, and who we have become today. The name reflects the fact that this bridge was built in the cradle of the old Confederacy and that Edmund Pettus was a very significant man of his era--Confederate general, U.S. Senator---and yes, a member of the Klu Klux Klan.

Renaming the Bridge will never erase its history. Instead of hiding our history behind a new name we must embrace it --the good and the bad. The historical context of the Edmund Pettus Bridge makes the events of 1965 even more profound. The irony is that a bridge named after a man who inflamed racial hatred is now known worldwide as a symbol of equality and justice. It is biblical--what was meant for evil, God uses for good.

[TreasonousBastard]

5. She's got a point. Pettus was a scumbag, but he is now another symbol-- a symbol of the strength...

and truth in the struggles over the years. It took a while, but Pettus finally lost. It's only a bridge and Pettus is a long rotted away corpse. What is important is Bloody Sunday and every year at the remembrance, make sure the story is told.

Maybe leave the name Pettus as a name in infamy.

Selma Mayor Darrio Melton said Saturday that he was wary about naming the bridge for one person. Many activists, such as Selma resident Amelia Boynton, who was beaten into unconsciousness during Bloody Sunday, played a role in the events before and after the protest.

"What they exemplified for us was the system needed to be changed, more than the symbols needed to be changed," he said. "I believe to get bogged down in a conversation about symbols is to miss the entire struggle for which they fought. They weren’t marching to change a symbol. They were marching to change a system."

[groundloop]

6. I somewhat understand that argument.....

but would prefer that the name of a scumbag Confederate general / KKK member disappear from public view.

[TreasonousBastard]

7. Yeah. I'm good either way, as long as we all know who Pettus was.