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Community groups ask Valdosta to rename Gordon Street for Rep. John Lewis
Summary
Community advocates asked the Valdosta council to rename Gordon Street to John Lewis Avenue, saying the current name honors John B. Gordon, a Confederate general; council did not act at the meeting.
Activists and residents asked the Valdosta mayor and council on Sept. 11 to rename Gordon Street for U.S. Rep. John Lewis to better reflect civil-rights values.
Malik Wilkerson, speaking for several local organizations including the People’s Tribunal and People for Progress of South Georgia, said his group’s research indicates Gordon Street was named for John B. Gordon, a former Confederate general who also led the KKK in Georgia and defended slavery. Wilkerson said renaming the street for John Lewis — who helped organize nonviolent protests such as the Nashville sit-ins and the march on Selma and served in Congress until his death in 2020 — would align with recent local efforts to recognize civil-rights leaders. He referenced city ordinance 2023-12 as the procedure for such a change.
The council took no formal action on the proposal during the meeting. Wilkerson asked supporters to stand and said organizers would follow up with the council using the ordinance cited.
What’s next: The proposal would require following the city’s street-renaming procedures (as referenced by the speaker) and any formal petition or ordinance process the council directs.
