Hollywood Commission Unanimously Votes To Change Confederate Street Names

Follow CBSMIAMI.COM: Facebook | Twitter

HOLLYWOOD (CBSMiami) – The battle to remove the names of three confederate war heroes from Hollywood streets has come to an end.

The city's commission voted 6-0 on Wednesday to change the street names to Hope, Freedom and Liberty.

Back in August and after more than six hours of heated debate, Hollywood commissioners voted 5-1 to change the names of the streets named after the rebel generals.

More than 140 people signed up to speak at a public hearing. The message from most: take down the street signs and rename them.

Others argued, though, that the street names represented historic preservation not prejudice.  There was also opposition, citing the inconvenience of having to make so many address changes.

The three streets to be renamed are Lee Street, which is named after Gen. Robert E. Lee; Hood Street, named after Gen. John Bell Hood, and Forrest Street, named after Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest.

John Bell Hood, Robert E. Lee and Nathan Bedford Forrest all fought for the Confederacy and to preserve slavery.

Forrest was also the first Grand Wizard of the KKK. The street named after him runs through a predominantly black neighborhood.

At Wednesday's meeting, resident Cynthia baker accused commissioners of having bent to left wing, liberal special interest groups.

"You have shown yourselves to be cowards and bullies by defaming dead people,"Baker said of eliminating the confederate generals' names from street signs.

Others took a very different view.

"We are honoring the losers, and we are honoring the people who fought to keep human beings as slaves. That's wrong," said Hollywood resident Dara Hill.

The commission vote Wednesday came without discussion.  Commissioner Peter Hernandez left the room for the vote.  Hernandez has expressed displeasure with the public having been left out of the debate over what the streets would be named.  He was not opposed to renaming them.