City renames more streets with white supremacy, Confederacy ties

The city of Charlotte has renamed two more streets with ties to white supremacy and the Confederacy.

In March, Morrison Boulevard in the SouthPark area will become Carnegie Boulevard, while each of the four sections of East/West Hill Street will have a new name, according to a city news release.

The current Carnegie Boulevard will be extended to replace Morrison Boulevard effective March 31, officials said.


 

Effective March 18:

West Hill Street between McNinch and South Cedar streets will be renamed Westmere Avenue.

West Hill Street between South Cedar and Eldridge streets will be renamed Stadium View Drive.

East Hill Street at Royal Court will be renamed Civil Street.

East/West Hill Street between South Church and South College streets in uptown will be renamed Good Samaritan Way, in honor of Good Samaritan Hospital.

Built in 1891, Good Samaritan was the first private hospital in North Carolina built to provide services to Black residents, according to the Charlotte Museum of History.

The building was demolished in 1996 to make room for Bank of America Stadium.

The new names are part of the city’s Legacy Commission street renaming work.

Hill Street is named for Confederate Maj. Gen. D.H. Hill. a native of York County, S.C., who spent time before and after the Civil War in Charlotte.

Morrison Boulevard is named for Cameron Morrison, a North Carolina governor in the 1920s who, in the late 1890s, helped lead the “Red Shirts.” The paramilitary wing of the state Democratic Party’s white supremacy campaign terrorized Black voters, according to the commission.

Barringer Drive and Stonewall Street are the last streets still to be renamed, out of nine.

Residents and business owners along Barringer Drive and Stonewall Street are submitting new name suggestions and then will vote on the choices, officials said. The renamings will take effect in May and June, respectively.

Joe Marusak: 704-358-5067, @jmarusak