John Lewis and the Edmund Pettus Bridge

[Courtsensetwo]

As John Lewis crosses the historic Pettus bridge for the final time today, there is a debate about renaming the bridge.

Most civil rights leaders have wanted the bridge to retain the Pettus name to keep alive the memory of what that bridge meant.

Understanding the desire to rename the bridge in honor of Lewis I have a thought.

Name the road itself The Congressman John Lewis Highway. I think it creates the symbolism of John, MLK and other heroes of the movement transcending the racism of that time and of that KKK leader.

 

[i'vegotwinners]

As John Lewis crosses the historic Pettus bridge for the final time today, there is a debate about renaming the bridge.

Most civil rights leaders have wanted the bridge to retain the Pettus name to keep alive the memory of what that bridge meant.

Understanding the desire to rename the bridge in honor of Lewis I have a thought.

Name the road itself The Congressman John Lewis Highway. I think it creates the symbolism of John, MLK and other heroes of the movement transcending the racism of that time and of that KKK leader.

i agree the bridge needs to remain the Pettus, and naming the rd after Lewis would be a good way to cover both bases, assuming the rd doesn't already carry a name honoring someone worthy.

at one time, possibly still the case, IU had something like a 5 yr policy, where a structure couldn't be named after someone until at least 5 yrs after their death, to try and remove the emotion of the moment from the equation.

very possibly why SS Assembly Hall isn't McCracken Hall today.

of course that was before the criteria for naming buildings after people changed at IU and elsewhere.

a 5 yr post contribution policy today might be interesting.

 

[UncleMark]

I think it should be up to the people of Selma.

 

[Courtsensetwo]

I think it should be up to the people of Selma.

I do as well and hopefully they choose what I suggested.

 

[outside shooter]

I was surprised that so many within the civil rights movement prefer to keep the name. Wasn't Pettus a Klan leader and a Confederate? Why continue to honor such people? It's up to the local people I guess, as it should be.

 

[Courtsensetwo]

I was surprised that so many within the civil rights movement prefer to keep the name. Wasn't Pettus a Klan leader and a Confederate? Why continue to honor such people? It's up to the local people I guess, as it should be.

It isn't about honoring a notorious klansman as much as remembering the civil rights movement but I would leave that explanation to those who fought the battles and have a more authentic opinion than me.

 

[sglowrider]

 

[Lucy01]

Wonder who is paying for the never ending funeral for John Lewis?

 

[Harry Hondo]

i agree the bridge needs to remain the Pettus, and naming the rd after Lewis would be a good way to cover both bases, assuming the rd doesn't already carry a name honoring someone worthy.

at one time, possibly still the case, IU had something like a 5 yr policy, where a structure couldn't be named after someone until at least 5 yrs after their death, to try and remove the emotion of the moment from the equation.

very possibly why SS Assembly Hall isn't McCracken Hall today.

of course that was before the criteria for naming buildings after people changed at IU and elsewhere.

a 5 yr post contribution policy today might be interesting.

Do you mean Knight Hall? McCracken has been dead for decades, so the 5 yr. rule wouldn’t apply, and besides the court is named after him in his honor. Never heard of any movement to also name AH after him.

 

[i'vegotwinners]

Do you mean Knight Hall? McCracken has been dead for decades, so the 5 yr. rule wouldn’t apply, and besides the court is named after him in his honor. Never heard of any movement to also name AH after him.

just because you never heard of it, doesn't mean it wasn't there, strong, and deserved.

McCracken died the summer of 1970, when AH was well along in construction before opening in fall of 71.

there was a very strong push to name the arena after him at the time, but IU cited the 5 yr rule as to why they couldn't at the time, which is how i knew of the rule to begin with.

and then pushes to name it after him after he was eligible.

for AH not to have been named for him is a black mark on IU, and no doubt the rise and fervor of the cult, and universities' in general full embrace of capitalism and selling naming rights rather than using them to honor heritage, both contributed to that failing.

as for the case for,

Branch played for IU under Everett Dean, was a consensus All American in 1930, and led the team in scoring all 3 yrs he played.

he coached IU for i believe 5 yrs, then a hiatus to serve in WWII for several yrs, before returning to IU to coach from 1946 thru 1965 with 2 NCAA championships in his career..

IU first integrated B10 basketball under Branch and Herman Wells, with Bill Garrett..

and no doubt his life contributions to the program played a large part in AH being built.