Edmund Pettus Bridge

Good idea Roger!

Good idea Roger!

As John Lewis is laid to rest, his horse-drawn caisson crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge for the last time today. Congressman Lewis had said he did not want the bridge to be renamed for him. He felt that would dilute the historic importance of the civil rights movement, and that it should keep the name Edmund Pettus. We should honor John Lewis' wishes.

Instead, I propose that the road crossing it be named for him. It is currently called simply Broad Street. The entire route of his march from Selma to Montgomery, on US 80, should be named the John Lewis Highway. His name would then be on signs at each intersections along his historic march for voting rights, not just one bridge.

Luke,

Wow, Godwin wasn't kidding... :^)

The videos were quite informative, the presenter is good, although a little arrogant (he probably has even more Prussian in him than I do :^) ). While I disagree with many of his interpretations and conclusions, his facts are correct. However, these lectures are created by the informed and presented to the interested. The facts presented can be found if researched. They are merely made less obvious now, only available to those who explicitly seek them. Thus enabling the memory of these things to fade away from the minds of the populace.

As you may be aware, those videos were created in Germany. I know this because the little swirls in the historic footage block certain symbols that remain illegal there. It kind of ties in to my point. The sanitation of past events desensitizes the population to its history more rapidly than time alone. I am concerned that removing Edmund Pettus' name will do the same thing. This is the reason why I am opposed to changing the bridge' name.

Although related to the statues argument, in the sense it was named for for similar reasons that erected the statues. To me, the significance of bridge's name has become very different than that of the statues. The bridge and specifically its name are a direct link to the heroic actions taken by the marchers many years ago. By removing/changing the name, an additional separation from history is added and those events fade just a bit more.

Please note, I am trying to set aside left or right politics from my point about sanitizing history. Obviously, its not easy to do in this time and on a topic as charged as this. I am in favor of honoring Mr. Lewis, just not by renaming this bridge.

Regards,

Art S.

PS. The Japanese case is more striking than the German one.

PPS. I cite your work on this site as evidence of the fading of history via natural benign neglect. With a few significant exceptions, a lot of knowledge of early bridges in America has faded away over the generations to the point where you are putting in a great effort to learn what was and what really is. Just look at the number of bridges, that are still standing, listed on this site where the name of the builder has been 'lost to time.' This phenomenon is bad enough on its own; I'd rather try to slow/reverse the process than speed it up.

Art, the memories of the atrocities of WW2 are hardly fading from the German mindset. In fact, with the rise of brazen public Neo Nazism here in the US (e.g. the Proud Boys being openly antagonistic in the PNW, the whole Charlottesville Debacle to name a few.) and Conservatives making up things about Hitler/Nazi Germany/etc. (e.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfHXJRqq-qo ; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUFvG4RpwJI) Germans are teaching the rest of the world (Especially the US.) what they've clearly forgotten.

I can't speak for the Japanese aside from the fact that I know they don't acknowledged their massacre and raping of Nanjing.

Justin,

I guess Godwin's law is real...

I had considered using an analogy with not removing "Arbeit macht frei" from certain gates but held off...

The point is the bridge was named and the statues were erected by those who Lewis was resisting. Whereas the statues are passive, and therefore have less significance, the bridge itself and in a big way its name were very symbolic to both sides.

The local people/government named this bridge after a grand dragon of the KKK! This in itself teaches what Lewis faced and what he was fighting for and against when he led the march across it. By whitewashing this history it's significance will be diminished. Just like the history of the causes and atrocities of WWII are fading from the collective memories of those in Germany and Japan.

I have no problem with renaming bridges and I agree that Mr. Lewis should be honored. However, I feel strongly that it would be a mistake to honor Mr. Lewis by changing the name of this bridge.

Sincerely,

Art S.

Removing Pettus' name diminishes the action of Lewis in the same way that removing Confederate statues actually erases history.

It doesn't.

And much in the same way we shouldn't have statues to Hitler, we shouldn't have statues/memorials/etc. to Literal Traitors to the Union, especially when some of those traitors (Lee) expressly said "I don't want no damn statues' (Paraphrasing, of course.)

George,

I don't know what was in Mr. Lewis's mind, but I strongly suspect that he chose to guide the march over this bridge specifically because of the name and symbolism associated with it.

I don't care about Mr. Pettus. However, to me, removing his name slightly reduces/dilutes the strength, courage and poignancy of Mr. Lewis' decisions and actions.

Regards,

Art S.

Art,i read the history on Mr Pettus and see that besides being a confederate officer he also was pro slavery and a founding member of the KKK.Mr Lewis fought for equality and has more of a connection with this bridge.Therefore I see no problem in renaming this bridge after Mr Lewis.That is my opinion on this matter.Of course as you know we can't change the name of the bridge.

While I'm in favor of honoring Lewis, I thing taking Pettus' name from the bridge would be a mistake. Doing so would remove some of the history in the strength of Lewis' message in crossing the bridge.

Art S.

Rep. John Lewis passes. The fight to rename a bridge in Alabama in his memory/honor is gaining support. Will Edmund Pettus be put aside in favor of Lewis, who fought for equality and voting rights among blacks and minorities? Read more on the bridge in Selma and Lewis' legacy: https://bridgehunterschronicles.wordpress.com/2020/07/18/joh...

Two photos related to the bridge. One is plaque showing the bridge designer. The other historical marker photo notes what happened on 'Bloody Sunday'.

I read a story on the BBC news site a couple of days ago http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-31736316 where some group is circulating a petition to get the name of the bridge changed. However, the city leaders in Selma are not in favor of it and prefer to keep the name as it is so that present and future generations understand the significance of what happened there in 1965.

NHL Nomination Form Attached.

Attachment #1 (application/pdf; 1,531,100 bytes)

Boy I wish I had been able to visit this bridge during my SE USA last November. The hits to my website would have likely been huge with the nonstop television coverage... I see its the most-visited bridge on BridgeHunter yesterday.

Regarding the name, here is an interesting perspective. As a bridge that (although it has considerable engineering significance as a unique steel arch bridge) this bridge is undoubtedly most significant under NRHP Criterion A (Significant Events in History), specifically the Selma March. In 2013, the bridge was even raised to the highest and rarest historic designation available for a bridge, that of a National Historic Landmark. Regardless of what you think of the name, consider that this bridge has amazingly been nearly completely unaltered from its appearance during this significant event in history. Look at the historical imagery from the march. The bridge (for better or worse, with that name above) looks the same as it did during the march. If you were to change the name of the bridge (and thereby the name mounted on the bridge) that would break the museum-like preservation the bridge currently enjoys. Perhaps a better solution is to install interpretive signage beside the bridge that explains the irony of the name.

Patrick,

I see where you are coming from but the fact that the name raised your ire to the level that you were willing to think about it and write about it speaks volumes. To me, changing the name removes that thorn and the teaching moment. It sweeps it under the rug. By leaving the name it ensures people will not forget.

Maybe I'm idealistic in that way but to me the fact that the first march was stopped at the bridge and the second 'broke through' has tremendous symbolism.

Its interesting that we are discussing opposite courses of action yet agree on the reason/basis.

Regards,

Art S.

Yours can be a compelling point, ArtS, and I've at times been tempted by it, but history, and progress, are about more than irony and poignancy, in a moment, every fifty years.

Days, weeks and months from now, when people ask about the Pettus bridge, they will be told who it was named after. The ironic moment, the poignant one, will be less remembered and the honor given a vile scoundrel who exerted effort all his life to keep people enslaved and then to keep them from ever exercising their rights will remain memorialized, in large letters, on that bridge.

In school districts throughout the south, children are being educated at schools named during Jim Crow after scoundrels like Pettus and Nathan Bedford Forrest who worked hard and proudly to keep those students' ancestors under thumb or boot.

Progress is also about relegating the scoundrels to the pages of history and honoring, memorializing, those who struggled, who were beaten, and who died for the rights of all of us.

Patrick, there is a strong push to change the name. To me, the irony of the name combined with the bridge's significance to our history is important. In my opinion, changing the name strips a part of its history and reduces its poignancy.

Today's an important anniversary for this bridge, sadly still stuck with the name of a Klansman.