The Arlington County board is expected to ask the Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) to rename the section of the Jefferson Davis Highway, Rt. 1, that runs through the county.
What took it so long?
I defend the preservation of Civil War statues, especially those along Richmond’s Monument Ave. The statues are magnificent works of public art that are integrated into the urban design of the community. No one erects statues of this quality any more — just compare the craftsmanship of the Lee, Jackson and Stuart effigies compared to the modest and forgettable memorials that pop up today. Remove the statues, and you create gaping holes in the streetscape. But a street name is just a street name.
Arlington loses nothing by changing the lettering on street signs. Moreover, Jefferson Davis is neither a son of Virginia, nor did he embody the martial virtues that many Virginians celebrate with the Civil War generals. Davis, unlike the military heroes, symbolizes nothing but the Lost Cause of the Confederacy. Not surprisingly, according to Inside Nova, there is no organized constituency for preserving the name.
The CTB should grant Arlington its request and then go one step further: Preemptively grant permission to any other locality along Rt. 1 that wishes to change the name.
