The Edmund Pettus Bridge, named after the Alabama Grand Dragon of the KKK.
Maybe you already knew it, but I'll confess that I had no earthly idea that the Edmund Pettus Bridge, landmark in the struggle for civil rights that it is, was named after one of the most notorious racists in the history of America and the Alabama Grand Dragon of the KKK.
Not only was Edmund Pettus the central leader of the Alabama Ku Klux Klan, he was a fierce general in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. In fact, you'd be hard pressed to find a man who despised the freedom and full liberation of black people more than Edmund Pettus. It's who he was.
Furthermore, the Edmund Pettus Bridge was named as such in his lifetime or soon after his death, and served several generations later in Selma during the height of Jim Crow as a permanent reminder of what the city leaders thought and felt about African Americans. It's damn near impossible to say that you simultaneously love Edmund Pettus and want to honor him without also being honest that he hated black people.
So, when I saw this recent petition to have his name removed from the bridge, I'll be honest, I had mixed emotions about it. Let me be clear about one thing—I can't stand the man. In his role of Grand Dragon of the KKK, he likely oversaw and ordered the lynching of African Americans in Alabama and certainly fought hard for alienation of African Americans in the state.
However, there is something very profound about a bridge with the name of a notorious racist on it now being thought of as a place of victory and triumph for the very people he hated so badly. African Americans, and indeed all freedom-loving people, see the Edmund Pettus Bridge as a living example of the courage of the Civil Rights Movement and the cowardice of the police who so badly assaulted those fighting for the right to vote.
I don't like anything that makes Edmund Pettus famous, but the irony is that in 2015 his name, as it's placed on the bridge, is now most associated with African Americans and freedom fighters and not the legacy of ugliness that he sowed while on earth.
While it would be a beautiful thing to name it the "Bloody Sunday Bridge" or the "Freedom Fighters Bridge" or to name it after a prominent figure in the movement, keeping it named the Edmund Pettus Bridge has a historical realness to it that reminds us all of just how ugly Selma used to be.
Ultimately, I'm double-minded about it. When I learned of how disgusting of a human being Edmund Pettus was, I hated that I had even repeated his name so many times in my life, but I sure do love the idea that our legacy of love and boldness and courage now outshine his ugliness.
What do you think? I'd love to hear your thoughts.