A Republican-backed bill seeks to rename part of a Tennessee street named after Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), the late civil rights leader, to “honor” former President Donald Trump.
The bill, sponsored by Tennessee state Rep. Paul Sherrell (R) and state Sen. Frank Niceley (R), would rename a stretch of Nashville’s Fifth Avenue that had been named after Lewis. The section is between James Robertson Parkway and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
The legislation, which calls for the stretch to be named President Donald Trump Boulevard, comes less than three years after Trump insisted he didn’t know who Lewis was and couldn’t tell.One way or anotherhe found it impressive.
Lewis’ sit-ins took place along Fifth Avenue during the civil rights movement, The Tennessean noted, and the Nashville Metro Council renamed part of the street to recognize him after his death in 2020.
The change could give the Tennessee state legislature an address to President Donald Trump on the boulevard, according to the paper.
Metro Council member Zulfat Suara (D), a mother and community organizer, questioned her status in a tweet Thursday about the bill.
“This is not the way to govern. This is ridiculous. We will fight this. #GoodTrouble,” Suara wrote, quoting Lewis’ famous words about activism and herself he noted the moment as “cruel”. of the bill at the beginning of Black History Month.
Tennessee state representative Justin Jones (D) also criticized the renaming proposal, tweeting that the bill is “more than a street name.”
“It’s another white supremacist attack on black history,” Jones wrote.
“They spat on our ancestor’s grave. It is the memory of hatred. You better believe we’ll fight back.
The bill also could remove streets from the list of things that can be protected as “memorials” under Tennessee law, according to WKRN-TV.
HuffPost has reached out to Sherrell and Niceley for comment.
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