A Republican-backed bill seeks to rename a section of Tennessee road dedicated to Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), the late civil rights leader, to “honor” former President Donald Trump.
Bill, sponsored by Tennessee Rep. Paul Sherrell (R) and state Sen. Frank Niceley (R), will rename a section of Nashville’s Fifth Avenue that has been named after Lewis. The section between James Robertson Parkway and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
The law, which calls for it to be called President Donald Trump Boulevard, comes less than three years after Trump insisted that he hardly knew who Lewis was and that he could not speak “one way or another” if you find him impressive.
Lewis’ lunch counter sit-in took place on Fifth Avenue during the civil rights movement, The Tennessean noted, and the Metro Nashville Council renamed it as part of a way to recognize him after his death in 2020.
The change could give the Tennessee state legislature’s office the address of President Donald Trump Boulevard, according to the newspaper.
Metro Council member Zulfat Suara (D), a mother and community organizer, asked what the situation was in a tweet about the bill on Thursday.
“This is not how to manage. This is ridiculous. We will fight this. #GoodTrouble,” Suara wrote, quoting Lewis’ famous words about activism, and him noted the “brutal” time. of the bill as Black History Month begins.
Tennessee state representative Justin Jones (D) also criticized the renaming proposal and wrote on Twitter that the bill “is about more than a street name.”
“This is yet another white supremacist attack on Black history,” Jones wrote.
“This is spitting on the graves of our ancestors. It is memorializing hate. Most believe, we will fight back.
The bill could also remove streets from the list of things that can be protected as “memorials” under Tennessee law, according to WKRN-TV.
HuffPost has reached out to Sherrell and Niceley for comment.