The South in the 1960s was a volatile, changing and unstable place. Southern officials were defiant and would not comply with Federal court decisions deeming segregation unconstitutional and statutes banning the practice.

In Georgia in 1966, three men vied for the state’s highest political office. One of these men was Lester Maddox. Maddox, who owned the Pickrick restaurant in downtown Atlanta, defied the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and refused service to African Americans. On one occasion, Maddox, with a pistol drawn and supported by axe-handle-wielding white patrons, refused to serve African Americans and chased them off the property. Maddox later sold his restaurant to avoid having to serve African American customers.

The axe-handle incident drew national attention, and Maddox was encouraged to run for Governor on a segregationist platform in 1966. In the general election, Maddox won the Democratic nomination but lost to Republican Bo Callaway by just over 3,000 votes. However, because of a write-in candidate in the three-way race, no one won a majority and the race was to be decided by the Georgia Assembly, which was still heavily Democratic and socially stagnant. To no one’s surprise, Lester Maddox won.

In later years, two Georgia roads were named in Maddox’s honor: a stretch of Highway 41, between Marietta Street and Northside Drive, and a bridge on Interstate 75 where it crosses the Chattahoochee River.

The reason why Mr. Maddox's name needs to be removed is simple: These roads are an homage to the Old South. The values that are being reflected by having daily reminders of a man who stood for inequality have no place in Georgia. These values have long since proven to be unsubstantial, and fortunately, progress has triumphed. However, in order for progress to continue, we need to rid our society of lasting reminders of a time, a place, and feelings of the past that should remain there. 

Let us put a troubled and turbulent past behind us and remove Lester Maddox’s name from these Georgia roads as we move together toward continued progress and equality for all.