SOUTH FULTON, Ga. — A prominent road in the city of South Fulton could soon have a name change. Mayor Khalid Kamau wants to change a road named after a Confederate leader.
The road is called Stonewall Tell Road after Confederate General Stonewall Jackson.
"It’s offensive. We have a 92% African American population, and I think it is inappropriate to have any streets in our city named after people who fought to keep my ancestors and South Fulton’s descendants in slavery," Kamau said.
That's why the mayor said he's proposing to change the name of Stonewall Tell Road to Bill Edwards Drive in honor of South Fulton's first mayor.
Edwards served as a Fulton County commissioner, helped to create the city back in 2017, and was defeated by Mayor Kamau during his bid for reelection in 2021.
"I would not be a mayor today if it weren’t for Mayor Bill Edwards," Kamau said. "I'm doing this because it's important to honor your elders."
"It speaks to the mayor reaching back out to his opponent, Bill Edwards, because it was a quite contentious race for the mayor here," Kwabena Lumumba, who lives off Stonewell Tell Road, said.
Lumumba added that he supports the name change.
“Particularly with this being the Blackest city in America, we want something very progressive, and we want things that speak to our interests and to our history and culture, and I think this is it," Lumumba said.
Jeff Williams also lives off Stonewell Tell Road and serves on the homeowners association board.
"Being a member in a community that’s 99% African American, various professionals, I think it’s prolific when we come into Stonewall Manor Estates in Stonewall Manor, looking at that, and then driving on the road," he said. "It’s one of those things that you get used to, but you don’t forget.”
“Many of these streets were renamed in the wake of Brown v. Board of Education," Mayor Kamau explained. "The actual renaming of these streets were defiant acts of white supremacists who were angry about the opening of the electorate and the electoral power to African Americans. They serve as a reminder that they still have the power to name the streets we drive on."
Kamau will present his proposal during next Tuesday's city council meeting and said he hopes the change can move the city into the 21st Century.
“To do that in Black History Month, to reclaim ourselves and to reclaim our streets is a very empowering thing," he concluded.
The mayor expects his proposal to pass with a unanimous vote. However, he's not yet sure exactly how much it would cost to replace the street signs.