The Story:
The Hollywood, Florida city’s commission voted unanimously on Wednesday to change the names of three streets named after Confederate generals Nathan Bedford Forrest, John Bell Hood and Robert E. Lee, to Freedom, Hope and Liberty.
Why now?
Such initiatives gained popularity after a planned removal of a statue of General Lee and ensuing violent protests Charlottesville this August reopened nationwide debate over such memorials being symbols of heritage versus symbols of hate.
The South is still debating the use of the Confederate flag and other symbols of a side that fought for the preservation of slavery during the American Civil War, and the name change comes at a time when sentiment is still divided along those lines.
The move by Hollywood, Florida follows similar action in places like Dallas, New Orleans, Kentucky and St. Louis, where several memorials and statues have either been relocated or removed.
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