Tennessee Lawmakers- Do Not Change Rep. John Lewis Way to Pres. Trump Blvd

Tennessee legislators have filed a bill to rename a portion of Rep. John Lewis Way in Nashville to President Trump Blvd.

In 2020, Fifth Avenue was renamed in memory of the late U.S. Congressman John Lewis. The street was renamed to honor Congressman Lewis's ties to Nashville and 5th avenue. He attended American Baptist College and Fisk University in Nashville. He participated in the lunch counter sit-ins at Woolworth (on 5th) and received an award from Dr. Martin Luther King on the Ryman stage which is also located on 5th avenue. He was a freedom rider at both the MTA and Greyhound bus stations are on 5th avenue.

A year later, there was a city-wide celebration of the street name unveiling, with members of the late congressman's family, Rev. James Lawson, and many civil rights icons, presidents of several colleges, former VP Al Gore, Producer Callie Khouri, Dr. Michael Dyson, Ms. Samar Ali, and Mr. Jon Meacham, and many more in attendance. We also had performances by Darius Rucker, Allison Russell, Ruby Amanfu, T- Bone Burnett, and a video message from Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

It was a special day that brought the city together and Rep. John Lewis Way serves as a daily reminder of his powerful message of unity, service, love, and respect for every individual.

Last week, at the beginning of Black History month, 2 state legislators filed a bill to rename a portion of the street. This is a city street, paid for with city’s funds sponsored by Councilmember Zulfat Suara, and voted on by the city legislative body. Neither one of the sponsors lives in Nashville. We believe this bill is out of spite because some legislators did not want their state office addresses to bear the name of a black man.

Bills like HB 1372/SB 1407, represent the very worst kind of divisive public policy. We believe renaming any portion of Rep. John Lewis Way by state act undermines the message of Congressman Lewis and is a direct attack on his legacy and the things John Lewis stood and fought for.

Sign our petition and ask TN State Representative Sherrell and Senator Nicely to leave the name of the street alone. This bill is dangerous and is attempting to degrade/undermine/erase the work of black civil rights icons. Nashvillians celebrated the renaming of the street to Rep. John Lewis Way and we want to keep it that way.