DALLAS (WBAP/KLIF News) — Dallas citizens who are against renaming streets with Confederate ties are making their voices heard online.
As of Thursday morning, more than 800 people have signed a petition asking the city and Councilman Mark Clayton not to change the name of Gaston Avenue. A historical commission told the mayor’s Confederate task force on Tuesday the road is named after Confederate Captain William Henry Gaston.
The petition has a note attached indicating that Clayton does not support renaming the street and that people who live on it do not need to worry.
Another online petition has surfaced taking the issue to the next level, asking the city to rename Malcom X Boulevard “Brent Thompson Boulevard,” to honor the DART officer killed during a police ambush on July 7, 2016. In its description, it claims Malcom X “called for violent action against the US Government, police, and ‘White America,’” adding that his rhetoric is why Thompson and four other police officers were killed during the ambush.
That petition, however, only had around 60 supporters Thursday morning.
To view the Gaston Ave. petition, click here. To view the Malcom X Blvd. petition, click here.
