14 Confederate Street Names Changed With Fairfax City Council Vote

FAIRFAX CITY, VA — Fairfax City Council voted Tuesday night to change 14 city streets names due to their association with slavery, the Confederacy, and the myth of the "Lost Cause."

The City Council voted on a series of 14 motions made by Councilmember Janice Miller and seconded by Councilmember Jon R. Stehle Jr. This was followed by roll call votes on each of the streets:

Confederate Lane (5-1)

• Y: Councilmembers D. Thomas Ross, So Lim, Stehle, Joseph Harmon, Miller
• N: Councilmember Sang Yi

Lee Highway (5-1)

• Y: Ross, Lim, Stehle, Harmon, Miller
• N: Yi

Lee Street (4-2)

• Y: Ross, Lim, Stehle, Miller
• N: Harmon, Yi

Mosby Road (4-2)

• Y: Ross, Lim, Stehle, Miller
• N: Harmon, Yi

Mosby Woods Drive (4-2)

• Y: Ross, Lim, Stehle, Miller
• N: Harmon, Yi

Old Lee Highway (5-1)

• Y: Ross, Lim, Stehle, Harmon, Miller
• N: Yi

Plantation Parkway (5-1)

• Y: Ross, Lim, Stehle, Harmon, Miller
• N: Yi

Raider Road (4-2)

• Y: Ross, Lim, Stehle, Miller
• N: Harmon, Yi

Ranger Road (4-2)

• Y: Ross, Lim, Stehle, Miller
• N: Harmon, Yi

Reb Street (6-0)

• Y: Ross, Lim, Stehle, Harmon, Miller, Yi

Scarlet Circle (4-2)

• Y: Ross, Lim, Stehle, Miller
• N: Harmon, Yi

Singleton Circle (4-2)

• Y: Ross, Lim, Stehle, Miller
• N: Harmon, Yi

Traveler Street (4-2)

• Y: Ross, Lim, Stehle, Miller
• N: Harmon, Yi

Stonewall Avenue (6-0)

• Y: Ross, Lim, Stehle, Miller, Harmon, Yi

Following the vote, Miller made a motion, which Stehle seconded, directing city staff to begin the public engagement and new name selection process. The City Council voted unanimously to adopt the measure.

It was also announced during the staff presentation that the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles agreed to come to City Hall and host events to help city residents who wished to obtain identification cards with their new street name.

Tuesday's vote stems from the recommendations made last September by the 16-member Stakeholder Advisory Group based on the findings of the "Connecting Fairfax City For All" initiative, which the city council started in January 2021.

The city council kicked off the process in 2020, when many jurisdictions began to examine racial equity in the aftermath of George Floyd's murder at the hands of Minneapolis police officers. The city council's aim was to revaluate the way the Civil War was represented in the city.

In its final report and recommendations, the Stakeholder Advisory Group recommended the 14 names the council voted to change on Tuesday night.

The Stakeholder Advisory Group also recommended that the city update its seal, since the old seal contained depictions of a Confederate soldier and Lord Fairfax.

City staff presented a series of alternate designs for the city seal during several council work sessions last spring. At its June 28 meeting. the city council voted to adopt a new city seal.

Editor's Note: Patch will post a story on Wednesday with councilmembers' comments and what's next in the street renaming process.

Also see ...

• Fairfax City Adopts New Seal Minus Confederate Soldier, British Lord
• Confederate Street Renaming Vote In Fairfax City Deferred To July 12
• Confederate Street Renaming Receives Input From Fairfax City Residents