Hazen

Hazen

ELKINS — The Elkins Municipal Properties Committee shot down a measure that would have changed the name of Robert E. Lee Avenue on Thursday. Several residents spoke out during the meeting before the committee took action.

Fourth Ward Council Member Marley Hazen previously proposed changing the name of Robert E. Lee Avenue to honor NASA research mathematician Katherin Johnson. Hazen spoke about the measure during the public comment session of the May 2 Elkins City Council meeting. The proposal sparked discussion and backlash from the community.

Second Ward Councilman Charles Friddle presented his own argument against the name change on Thursday. He highlighted the historical significance of Lee in the area.

“It should be noted that General Lee’s first campaign was in the mountainous terrain of Randolph County,” he said. “Throughout his life, he exhibited the kind of leadership, loyalty and character that mark him as a great man,” Friddle said.

Elkins resident and U.S. Army veteran Mary English spoke out on the proposal.

“I find it offensive to take the Robert E. Lee sign down … He might have been on the wrong side. He was a soldier; he never lived the consequences of his decision. We need to teach the children that there are decisions that they will make — good and bad — and there are good and bad consequences … That may make some uncomfortable, but that’s the truth; it’s history. When you erase history, you’re doomed to make the same mistakes twice, and I don’t want to see the same mistakes made twice. I do not endorse slavery at all — in any shape or form. Both sides of (the war) paid a horribly high price.”

English also noted that changing the street name would also be an inconvenience for Elkins residents.

“It’s going to cost the taxpayers money. It’s going to cost them time to do address changes. I believe that the real issues in this town are the drugs, the homelessness and the hunger,” she added

Presenting the historical backgrounds of Edward Jennings Randolph and William Wallace Barron, Elkins resident Clark Martin made the point that if the name of Robert E. Lee was to be changed, streets named after other problematic figures would also have to be changed.

“Slavery was wrong, but the big push in the Civil War was for states’ rights. That filtered down into the rights of counties which filtered down into the rights of municipalities, of which Ms. Hazen has been kind enough to take advantage of to be able to pursue anything about which she’d like to see changed in this town,” Martin said.

Like English, Martin noted the importance of remembering history as it happened, ending on the question, “How do we know where we’re going if we don’t know where we’ve been?”

Hazen said the name needs to be changed.

“The street name needs to be changed. Whatever the name’s past associations, I can tell you that today it’s not giving young people a love of history; it’s making them feel disconnected with their city. We need to be proactive of reeling in young people and people of color and to retain young people after graduation is small-minded and unsustainable because it’s a great idea, but it’s not enough. We can only grow if we bring more people, including more young people, who will work and pay into services — including senior services. Recent Chamber of Commerce literature said that we have 25 percent fewer students in Randolph County. So, it’s important not only to consider history in general but choosing who we celebrate. The current street sign is not welcoming to people who aren’t from the region.

“If we are serious about bringing in young residents, people of color, and new jobs, this is something we need to do. In addition to tech, if we want to bring in more conventions and events to facilities in this area of the street, we have to consider this as well. The location name is enough to take us out of the running when trying to decide a couple locations for a diverse group of participants. It’s enough for another town to be eating our breakfast, by which I mean, for another mountain community to have the jobs and exposure that we need for continued growth.”

Hazen said she understands there would be some “growing pains” with the name change and said she would be willing to help financially with residents’ address changes. She said she would be willing to use her wages from City Council to assist paying for address changes for any resident on the street.

“I’m putting my money where my mouth is because I can’t think of a better investment for the future of Elkins,” Hazen said.

Hazen then went on to elaborate upon the benefits of renaming the street after Johnson.

“I’ve been working with potential partners,” she said. “A day celebrating the new name could be really positive event for Elkins, with a showing of the movie Hidden Figures, which features Katherine Johnson growing up in West Virginia and then her work at NASA. We have world-class astronomy jobs in our area, and Green Bank Observatory is excited about this proposal and interested in sending scientists to teach kids about the space agreement.” Additionally, the Elkins Historic Landmarks Commission passed a resolution in favor of the name change.

Hazen made a motion during the meeting to approve the name change, but it was shot down by committee members consisting of council members Christopher Lowther, 3rd Ward, and Marilynn Cuonzo, 4th Ward.