Charlotte works to remove Confederate names, while South Carolina doubles down

CHARLOTTE (FOX 46 CHARLOTTE) — It’s a tale of two Carolinas when it comes to streets and buildings with names tied to the Confederacy.

Friday morning, the city of Charlotte unveiled the brand new Druid Hills Way, replacing Jefferson Davis Street, two miles away from Uptown.

It’s the first of nine streets to be renamed in the coming months, after city leaders decided to scrap ties to the confederacy.

The road was named after the former President of the Confederacy.

“I think to get rid of the old street name of Jefferson Davis is just remarkable,” said Melissa Gaston, a longtime resident and leader of the Druid Hills Neighborhood Association.

Gaston said she was the one who suggested Druid Hills Way.

City leaders interviewed residents and asked for their input on the new name. 55% of them voted with the eventual winner.

“Because the street is a minority, black-owned street and to have something named after somebody who was not pro-African American is just a slap in the face,” Gaston said.

But while Charlotte is cutting ties to the confederacy just across the border, they’re stronger than ever.

This week, the South Carolina Supreme Court upheld the Heritage Act, which forbids changing the names of streets, buildings or other public places without approval from the legislature.

The court did find that the original requirement that 2/3rds of the state legislature approve a change to be unconstitutional.

Richland County Democratic Rep. Seth Rose has filed legislation to have a statue of former Governor Ben Tillman removed from the state grounds.

But he doesn’t see any movement anytime soon.

“I’m not sure this general assembly, the legislators at the statehouse are ready to do what needs to be done,’ Rose said.

“But I do believe our youth, the children, our future leaders will not stand for it. And his days are numbered on the statehouse grounds.”

House Speaker Jay Lucas, a Republican from Darlington, made it clear he’s not interested in having debates about changing confederate names.

“I reiterate what I have consistently said since 2015: the South Carolina House of Representatives will not engage in or debate the specifics of public monuments, memorials, state buildings, road names or any other historical markers during my time as Speaker,” Lucas said in a statement.