After roads and schools across the United States have changed its names due to Confederacy ties, a recent report on a memo given to City Council said Austin also might need a new name. AUSTIN, Texas — Across the United States and in Central Texas, the names of roads and schools have changed because of their ties to the Confederacy. A recent report on a memo given to City Council said Austin also might need a new name. “I don’t think I would change it because we’d have to change all our slogans. We’d have to reprint all those 'Keep Austin Weird' t-shirts, like what would we be,” asked one Austinite. “They’d kill an industry!” Brion Oaks, the Chief Equity Officer with the City of Austin, cleared the confusion up. “I highly doubt that Austin is going to be changing its name, but I know that has been grabbing the headlines,” said Oaks. “But I think for the public, it is really important to look at some of the history behind some of our historic Austin figures.” Oaks said council asked the Equity Office to do research in a resolution passed in October. “To conduct research and look at any of our city-owned assets that could potentially be tied to the Confederacy and Civil War and also kind of connected with the history of slavery," Oaks said. Oaks said they presented two lists in the memo. The first list, “Assets Slated for Initial Review,” included seven street names. “These were assets that we identified that were directly connected with leaders in the Confederate Army, so they were really close in line with the language in the resolution,” said Oaks. The second list, which included City of Austin, was a continuation of the research, Oaks said. “[The second list] was sort of a little bit broader look at historical figures that had more relationships or ties to either slavery or segregation or racism within the area of the city,” Oaks said. One of the historical figures was Stephen F. Austin. “He was a slave owner and played a prominent role in helping Texas to preserve slavery during the war with Mexico,” Oaks said. Oaks laughed when asked if that meant a new name was coming to the city. “No, not at all. Part of it is doing that research and Stephen F. Austin is one of those historical figures that also played prominent in not only establishment of Texas, but also played prominent in slavery within the state,” said Oaks. Oaks said those with the Equity Office are asking the council to focus on the first list. He explained the second list is there to show all of the possible Confederacy or slavery ties within the city.<doc-sep>Cindy Beringer holds a sign as she watches a statue of Confederate President Jefferson Davis is moved from its location in front of the school’s main tower the University of Texas campus, Sunday, Aug. 30, 2015, in Austin, Texas. Photo : Eric Gay ( AP Photo ) Stephen F. Austin, known also as the “father of Texas” is often credited with carving out the early outlines of Texas, so perhaps it is apt that the capital of the Lone Star state is named after him. Advertisement Except, hold that thought. Or at least that’s what Austin’s Equity Office wants you to do after a report by the office about existing Confederate monuments pointed out that Austin (the person) was a staunch supporter of slavery and what the Confederacy stood for. For example, as CNN notes, Austin “fought to defend slavery in spite of Mexico’s effort to ban it,” and also “believed slave labor indispensable for Texas to flourish.” The icing on top of the cake: Austin “believed that if slaves were emancipated they would turn into ‘vagabonds, a nuisance and a menace,’ ” and apparently sought to make sure slave owners were compensated if their slaves were freed. The report, which was released last week included the city’s name in a list of city assets considered “not explicitly Confederate and/or Civil War related but were within the spirit of the resolution representing segregation, racism, and/or slavery.” The list included some 10 streets named for William Barton, a slave owner, Pease Park, the Boulden Creek neighborhood and Barton Springs, the Austin American-Statesman noted. Advertisement According to the American-Statesman, those streets and parks are only suggested for reconsideration. The name of the city itself, as well as Bouldin Creek and Pease Park and the Barton-named landmarks, are low on the list, marked as “assets for secondary review.” However, there are other streets related to the Confederacy that are marked for more immediate action, including Littlefield Street, Tom Green Street, Sneed Cove, Reagan Hill Drive, Dixie Drive, Confederate Avenue and Plantation Road. To rename these streets would cost an estimated $5,956. So when all is said and done it’s not as if Austin is getting a new name tomorrow, if at all, as the process would likely require an election. But it has definitely acknowledged the problematic nature of the city’s name, as well as raised the issue in general. Advertisement The report also nodded to those who may oppose name changes as erasing history, and noted the inconvenience that can be caused to businesses and homeowners. “A slippery slope of what’s next and where do we stop?”, the report marked as an opposing viewpoint. However, the report also concluded that “societal values are fluid,” noting that things have changed (a lot) since the city was originally founded. Advertisement “It is essential to acknowledge that societal values are fluid, and they can be and are different today compared to when our City made decisions to name and/or place these Confederate symbols in our community. It is also important to acknowledge that nearly all monuments to the Confederacy and its leaders were erected without a true democratic process,” the report noted. “People of color often had no voice and no opportunity to raise concerns about the City’s decision to honor Confederate leaders. This process not only calls attention to remediating symbols of the Confederacy in our City, but creates a new opportunity for us to rename these symbols in order to commemorate the current values and legacy of those we choose to honor in our community’s public spaces.”<doc-sep>But despite those strong words, Austin said slavery in Texas must continue to fuel expansion and had a few slaves as domestic servants at one point, though it was never clear whether he viewed blacks as subhuman or genetically inferior — ideas used by slaveholders to justify the practice.<doc-sep>
In the latest efforts to rectify America's history of its slaveholding past, Austin’s Equity Office suggested that the Texas capital change its entire name in addition to removing statues and street signs in honor of Confederate soldiers. Austin, TX is named after Stephen F. Austin. The man, now known as the "father of Texas," one time "opposed an attempt by Mexico to ban slavery in the province of Tejas and said if slaves were freed, they would turn into “'vagabonds, a nuisance, and a menace," as reported by mystatesman.com. And for this, Austin's Equity Office recommended in a recent report that its name should be changed among many other street names. The report also stated that several parks and places should be altered as well. "Pease Park, the Bouldin Creek neighborhood, Barton Springs and 10 streets named for William Barton, the 'Daniel Boone of Texas,' who was a slave owner," were among the list. The report noted that there would be pushback against the proposed ideas, but defended it from accusations of whitewashing history. “It is essential to acknowledge that societal values are fluid, and they can be and are different today compared to when our city made decisions to name and/or place these Confederate symbols in our community," the document said, “It is also important to acknowledge that nearly all monuments to the Confederacy and its leaders were erected without a true democratic process. People of color often had no voice and no opportunity to raise concerns about the city’s decision to honor Confederate leaders," the office added. "Any changes to road names would require public hearings and action from the City Council," but a name change for the city would require and election in order to strike "Austin" from the city's charter and have it replaced with a new name. The office also noted that these proposed name changes could lead the city down a slippery slope. The office was aware "the likelihood of opposing viewpoints and nodded to inconveniences to businesses and residents and the view that changing the names could be considered a threat to historical preservation." To be clear, these were just suggestions and as of now, there is no concrete decision to place these ideas before the City Council or on the ballot.