Ebbin: Jefferson Davis Highway 'Clearly Over the Line'

State Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-30th) says that Jefferson Davis Highway is not the most welcoming name for a roadway that is a gateway into the area.

The highway runs through a large part of Ebbin’s 30th District. See a map here.

“It’s not the most welcoming name as we try to lure those from DC to shop and come in and do business in Virginia,” he said recently on The Kojo Nnamdi Show.

Ebbin says he has gotten a lot of comments from constituents about renaming the highway and noted that he also has lived near the roadway the past 25 years in Alexandria.

“Jefferson Davis was not a Virginian, so on that count I’d like to change the name. The rub is where do you stop?” he said.

“I’ve gotten from colleagues in other parts of the state questions about other names in Richmond,” he said. “One thing that is clearly over the line is Jefferson Davis Highway, our welcoming gateway to Virginia.”

“It’s a hard lift, partly because of the issues of changing other historic references to the Confederacy,” Ebbin told The Washington Post. “But I would like to see it changed.”

Watch the clip from The Kojo Nnamdi Show below:

See also:

• Poll: Should Jefferson Davis Highway Be Renamed?
• Mayor: Alexandria City Council to Review City’s Confederate Symbols
• Speaker Boehner Calls for Review of Confederate Symbols at U.S. Capitol
• Petition Started to Change Name of Robert E. Lee High School
• Petition Asks to Change Name of J.E.B. Stuart High School