Langston Blvd

A week after narrowing down the list of possible new names for Lee Highway to ten, a task force has settled on its recommendation.

The state route through Arlington currently named after Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee should instead be named after civil rights figures Mildred and Richard Loving, says the Working Group on Renaming Lee Highway.

“Mildred and Richard Loving Avenue” would honor the Virginia couple whose fight for the legalization of interracial marriage in the the 1960s culminated in a Supreme Court case and inspired the 2016 movie Loving.

Though Caroline County residents, the Lovings also lived in Washington, D.C., where they originally married in 1958 since interracial marriage was illegal in Virginia at the time. They were forced to move to D.C. in 1959 after being arrested and pleading guilty to “cohabiting as man and wife, against the peace and dignity of the Commonwealth.” Their fight to overturn anti-miscegenation laws was rejected by the Virginia Supreme Court, but eventually resulted in a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling that overturned such laws nationwide.

Members of the working group, who spent four months engaging with local residents and business owners while considering dozens of names suggested by the public, said the Lovings are deserving of having one of Arlington’s main commercial thoroughfares named in their honor.

“The landmark Loving Supreme Court case literally changed the United States” said Sandi Chesrown, Lee Highway Alliance Vice President and Working Group Member. “The case brought an end to the ‘separate but equal’ yet legally sanctioned way of life in America, it fueled the rise of multiracial families, and it supported the June 2015 ruling that legalized same sex marriage. For me, the name Loving has both Virginia and national significance and it encompasses justice.”

“The Lovings not only lived in the state, but the name relates to the Virginia state slogan, ‘Virginia is for Lovers,'” the Lee Highway Alliance, which helped organize the renaming process, said in a press release. “When travelers cross Key Bridge coming to VA from DC, they are met with the state slogan. It was the opinion of the Working Group that it made sense that the name ‘Loving’ would be the first road traveled on in the state. The name also represents a desire of Arlington County for people to treat one another in a loving way.”

In addition to Loving Avenue, the working group also narrowed down the remainder of the list to four runners-up, to be considered by the County Board: John M. Langston Boulevard, Ella Baker Boulevard, Dr. Edward T. Morton Avenue, and Main Street.

The Board is set to be briefed by the working group next week, and will then decide whether to advance the name change to the state legislature or the Commonwealth Transportation Board.

More on the name change from a press release, below.

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The task force charged with suggesting a new name for Lee Highway (Route 29) has narrowed the list down from 20 to ten finalists.

The Lee Highway Alliance, which is leading the renaming effort, said the list was whittled down by the working group “after four spirited and thoughtful public meetings held between September and December.”

The potential names to make the cut are:

1. Dogwood
2. Ella Baker
3. Edward Morton
4. Green Way
5. James E. Browne
6. John Glenn
7. John M. Langston
8. Justice
9. Main Street
10. Mildred & Richard Loving

The street suffix of the names that lack them would be determined later.

“The new name for Lee Highway will be the new name not just for a major road, but for a major road that is home to many businesses,” Working Group member Maia Potok-Holmes, said in a press release. “We must consider marketing and branding when making out final decision — for the survival of our businesses and for how we want our community to be perceived. The new name will affect the future of the corridor and the success our businesses.”

The release notes that the final choice will be decided at a meeting next Wednesday, Dec. 9.

“The meeting will be held via Zoom from 6:30-8:30 p.m. and will be open to the public,” the Lee Highway Alliance said. “The first choice and four alternatives will then move to the Arlington County Board, which will decide which name to send to the Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) or the Virginia General Assembly for implementation.”

More on the possible names and the selection process, from the press release, is below.

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Lee Highway could become John Glenn Boulevard. Or Mildred and Richard Loving Avenue. Or just Main Street.

Those are a few of the possible names identified by the group in charge of coming up with a new moniker for Route 29, the main east-west route through Arlington’s northern neighborhoods.

The 25-person task force, formed by the Lee Highway Alliance at Arlington County’s behest, says it has narrowed down a list of 186 names suggested by the community to 20. Those names were revealed Monday afternoon and will be further narrowed down to 3-5 finalists later this year, based on additional community input.

The 20 names up for community consideration are “based on local historical figures, represent broad ideals, or highlight local flora/fauna,” the alliance said. The names are:

1. Arcova (acronym for Arlington County, Va.)
2. Ella Baker
3. James E. Browne
4. Community
5. Dogwood
6. Equity
7. Green Way
8. John Glenn
9. Harmony
10. Inclusive
11. Innovation
12. Justice
13. John M. Langston
14. Mildred and Richard Loving
15. Main Street
16. Leonard “Doc” Muse
17. Edward T. Morton
18. Necostin
19. Unity
20. Maggie Walker

“The Working Group will consider street suffix options, such as Boulevard or Avenue, in future deliberations,” the Lee Highway Alliance noted in a press release.

The alliance has created a web page with the background behind each name, as well as an online poll that is expected to remain open through Nov. 30.

“Community input will be considered as part of the Working Group’s decision-making in early December,” the press release says. “Then the top three-five names from the Working Group’s deliberations will move to the County Board, in view of a recommendation that then could go to the Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) or the Virginia General Assembly, which controls the final go-ahead.”

The full press release is below.

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(Updated at 12:55 p.m.) The renaming of Lee Highway is continuing apace.

The Lee Highway Alliance (LHA), which is spearheading a renaming process for the east-west commuter artery also known as Route 29, today announced the 25 members of a Working Group charged with coming up with new names.

Among the members are Arlington NAACP President Julius Spain, Sr.; Lebanese Taverna co-owner Grace Abi-Najm Shea; and Matt Weinstein, a land use attorney and former legal counsel for Arlington Democrats, who will chair the group.

In a press release, below, the Alliance says the Working Group will start holding virtual meetings, which will be open to public viewing, in mid-September.

“Our vision for the future is a welcoming and equitable Main Street, and neither ‘Lee’ nor ‘Highway’ is representative of that vision,” said Ginger Brown, Executive Director of the LHA, which was working on envisioning ways to modernize the car-oriented corridor when it was also tasked with the renaming.

A new video released by the LHA yesterday makes the case for why Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee’s name should be removed from Route 29 in Arlington.

“I think that there comes a time in history when you need to change in order to move ahead,” the video says.

“It wasn’t named Lee Highway in 1865 or 1866 when the Civil War ended, it was named Lee Highway in the 1920s and 30s,” says Wilma Jones Killgo, who has served as president of the John M. Langston Citizens Association, which represents the historically Black neighborhood of Halls Hill, along Route 29.

“When Black people started getting educated and creating businesses and creating their own wealth,” she continues, “it was all a series of intimidations.”

The new name chosen for Route 29 should be “welcoming to all people and businesses,” should “work for all four Northern Virginia jurisdictions that include Lee Highway, and should promote “economic vitality” via effective branding, the Alliance’s website says.

The Working Group has four meetings scheduled, starting on Sept. 16 and running through Jan. 13. The full LHA press release about the group’s formation is below.

Ginger Brown, Executive Director of the Lee Highway Alliance, today announced a Working Group that will lead the effort to recommend new names for Lee Highway to the Arlington County Board. The 25 members of the Working Group reflect a variety of backgrounds and skills, from business ownership to civic involvement.

LHA has been in conversation with the County Board for nearly three years about renaming the 4.6 miles of Lee Highway to better reflect a welcoming, vibrant, and future forward identity. “We are beginning the conversation on replacing both of the words present on Lee Highway” says Brown. “Our vision for the future is a welcoming and equitable Main Street, and neither ‘Lee’ nor ‘Highway’ is representative of that vision.”

In mid-September, the group will begin its community engagement work to solicit ideas for new words for Lee Highway. The group’s virtual meetings, which are also slated to begin mid-September, will be open to the public for viewing.

Matt Weinstein (Chair), Grace Abi-Najm Shea, Bill Braswell, Ginger Brown, Mike Cantwell, Sandi Chesrown, Lynn Coates, Elaine Furlow, Saundra Green, Lauren Harris, Mike Hogan, Paul Holland, Wilma Jones, Jeff Joseph, Minneh Kane, Anika Kwinana, Ben Keeney, Diane Kelly, Annie Moyer, Maia Potok-Holmes, Richard Price, Andy Rude, Julius D. Spain, Sr., Jim Todd, and Tom Wolfe.

Several members of the Working Group were drawn from LHA’s Community Advisory Committee, an existing body that helps LHA communicate with stakeholders, garnering feedback, channeling ideas, and encouraging new ways to reach the residents and business/property owners.

The Working Group will also receive input from Advisory Groups made up of subject-matter experts.

The groups include a Branding Advisory Group, Business and Property Owners Advisory Group, Institutional Advisory Group, Transportation Advisory Group, and LHA’s own Communications Committee.

Photo (top) via Google Maps