Savannah Council Votes To Ask State To Rename Talmadge Bridge
From the Savannah Morning News:
The Savannah City Council approved on Thursday a resolution for Georgia lawmakers to rename the Eugene Talmadge Memorial Bridge, named for a former governor and segregationist.
Mayor Eddie DeLoach said he wanted the city to be on the right side of history and that the bridge should no longer be named for a man who divides the community….
Named after former Gov. Eugene Talmadge, who held office from 1933 to 1946, residents have advocated for years to rename the bridge into Savannah because of his staunch support of segregation and white supremacist views.
The resolution calls for the bridge to be renamed “The Savannah Bridge”, in an effort to promote the city rather than any specific individual. The name change would require action from the state legislature, of which the article says:
Rep. Ron Stephens, R-Savannah, has said he supports the effort, but expected the change to be difficult to pass due to opposition from other lawmakers around the state as it has in past. Sen. Lester Jackson, D-Savannah, has also said he is also prepared to push for the renaming, which could be proposed as a stand-alone bill, as well as potentially be combined with legislation to remove some Confederate monuments throughout the state.
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Charlie
Founder of GeorgiaPol.com; Now weekly columnist Very interested in Georgia and Georginas. Interest in politics is waning daily.
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A technical correction here—contrary to what the Savannah paper reports, Talamdge did not hold office from 1933-1946; over those 13 years, he served as governor 1933-1937 and 1941-1943. He ran for governor again in 1946 and won the Democratic primary but died a few weeks before taking office. Chatham County (Savannah) went with Talmadge in the 1946 primary, contrary to many other urban counties in Georgia….as for renaming the bridge, couldn’t they pick something less bland than “Savannah Bridge?”
” The Bridge”? That’s what most pole call it. ” Take the bridge over the river…”
This is reminiscent of stuff we’ve seen in countries that couldn’t carry our proverbial national jock strap. Changing names, falling statues. It’s all so wrong and unnecessary. I expect renaming a Soviet city, even burying and exhumation, executing and then reburying. Man, this is just disappointing. Never, ever thought all of this would happen- HERE.
As I mentioned before, the City has been trying to rename the bridge while it was under construction 28 years ago – new bridge, new name… This is not that big of a deal.
So if I understand this correctly, conservatives- many of whom couldn’t stand to call themselves Republicans for 100 years after Abraham Lincoln- now are resisting removing vestiges of the slave era that Lincoln tried to end.
What are we to conclude from that?
Which vestiges are next? Jefferson Memorial, Washington Monument? Following your logic, yes. Pathetic..,
There is a distinction between those but I don’t expect you to understand it.
The mass hypnosis has worked on you and no logic, reason, or evidence will sway you from its influence.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/ralphbenko/2015/11/28/donald-trump-political-mass-hypnotist/#3244604252fd
Go back to its original, Tomochichi, then we can call it “the Tom”.
If the city was going for the historical or even the ‘righting past wrongs’ position that would work. In But they are not – they are going for the simple marketing neutral name that lets tourist pronounce things and keeps the city’s name out of the headlines.