El Paso City Council Changes Name Of Robert E. Lee Road

The Civil War was fought over 150 years ago, but the fallout from that war is still being felt in 2020. The names of Confederate War officers have been on schools, roads, and military installations all over the United States ever since the war ended, but with the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, monuments are coming down and the names of those officers on public buildings and posts are being questioned.

At their regular meeting today, El Paso City Council chose to rename a stretch of road in the east-central part of town that was named for the general who led the Confederate troops. City reps have changed the name of Robert E. Lee Road which runs from Gateway Boulevard West to Montana Avenue near Airway to Buffalo Soldiers Road.

The last time the name change was considered was in 2017 after a white supremacist killed a protester during the Charlottesville demonstrations. The name of the part of the road was changed to Buffalo Soldier Road in 2014 by Fort Bliss officials. Buffalo Soldiers is the nickname given to the all African American 9th Calvary.

the El Paso Independent School District Board of Trustees announced last week that they are looking into possibly changing the name of Robert E. Lee Elementary School in the northeast. They haven't given a timeline for that proposed name change.

I think this is an important move for our city. The Confederacy fought a war against the Union and they lost. The Confederate States of America is a vanquished nation and their name and symbols have no place on government owned land.