The New Orleans City Council unanimously approved the renaming of Robert E. Lee Blvd. for Musician, Songwriter and Producer Allen Toussaint.
The street which runs from one end to the other through the northern suburbs near the lake will be rechristened Toussaint Boulevard.
The move hauls down the name of the one of the most infamous Confederate leaders in history and ascribes him permanently to the past in New Orleans.
Toussaint himself lived on the same street that will soon bear his name.
The action came in the closing hours of the 2019-2022 council session.
Next week a new council will be sworn in.
Though passed unanimously, there were still naysayers among the public who felt the renaming of streets was a waste of time, effort and money.
One such person, Thomas Longmire, spoke about Lee, reminding the council that President Franklin D. Roosevelt had called him one of America’s great Christians.
Supporters of the name change were less complimentary. They referred to Lee as a traitor of the United States.
Others praised Toussaint as an ambassador of the New Orleans sound and the city.
To avoid confusion with other streets also featuring the name “Allen”, including last nights renaming of Slidell Street for trumpeter Red Allen, the boulevard will simply be referred to as Toussaint Boulevard. Another two block portion of a street, McShane Place will be renamed in honor of Joseph Guillaume. Guillaume was a 19th Century Activist who launched a protest in 1867 to desegregate public transportation.
Dozens of other streets and thoroughfares across New Orleans will soon be adorned with the names of civil rights and entertainment natives of New Orleans as part of de-glorification of racism and white supremacists from the City’s political past.