Nashville, Tenn. (TN Tribune)-Two state republican lawmakers have introduced a bill to are rename parts of Rep. John Lewis Way in Davidson County to President Donald Trump Boulevard.
State Representative Paul Sherrell and State Senator Frank Niceley, who was involved in a controversy last year for a perceived anti-Semitic comment, brought the bill before the council earlier this month saying they only want to change a small section of the road.
Businesses like the Nashville Municipal Auditorium, the Metropolitan Government of Nashville & Davidson County, and the Cordell Hull building will have to change their addresses if this bill is signed into law.
Lewis, who was a leader in the 1960s civil rights movement before becoming a highly-respected congressman, went to college at Nashville’s American Baptist College and led sit-ins to desegregate lunch counters at stores on the street now named for him.
Safiyah Suara, daughter of Councilwoman At Large Zulfat Suara, hosted a Youth Rally to protest the bill Saturday in conjunction with the John Lewis March Committee.
The committee says the name change undermines the message of Congressman Lewis and is an attempt to erase the work of black civil rights icons. Several council members played a roll back in 2021 in helping rename the street. The rally intentions around preserving the naming was proclaimed just three years ago.
There is a petition opposing the bill that has already gathered nearly 10,000 signatures.
