Photo by: Dylan Lysen / Lawrence Journal-World
A sign in Lawrence’s Pinckney neighborhood on Wednesday, December 30, 2020, explains that the neighborhood association is working to change the neighborhood’s name and asks residents for suggestions.
A historic Lawrence neighborhood started the name change process after it was discovered earlier this year that the neighborhood is named after a slave owner.
The Pinckney Neighborhood Association, which oversees Lawrence’s central neighborhood north of Sixth Street, announced this week that it is considering a name change in recent months and is now accepting suggestions for a new name.
PNA President Bart Littlejohn told the Journal-World that the neighborhood started the discussion over the summer and recently came to the conclusion that it was time for a change.
“People thought it was something we should go ahead and pursue,” said Littlejohn.
The possible name change could be the first action taken on the subject since a Journal-World reader pointed out that the historic district is named after Charles Pinckney or Charles Cotesworth Pinckney. The Pinckney are two cousins from South Carolina who had successful political careers in the late 1700s and early 1800s, but who also argued for the United States to allow slavery to continue when the United States Constitution was ratified.
The neighborhood, which recognizes Charles Cotesworth Pinckney as the namesake, was encouraged to consider a name change as a response to the civil unrest felt across the country last summer after the death of a black man, George Floyd, in the hands of Minneapolis, Minn. ., police. The unrest has led many to reexamine the history of racism in the United States and whether monuments and buildings named after those who contributed to this should continue.
“Locally in the Pinckney neighborhood, that meant addressing the fact that Charles Cotesworth Pinckney was a person that many residents were uncomfortable with honoring – especially since the neighborhood is a historically black neighborhood,” said the neighborhood in its ad.
The neighborhood has launched a process to receive suggestions for a new name and hopes to be a voting procedure in the spring to choose one, Littlejohn said.
Two Pinckneys
As the Journal-World reported in June, the Pinckney neighborhood and the nearby elementary school were named after its proximity to Pinckney Street, which is now known as Sixth Street.
Steve Nowak, executive director of the Watkins History Museum, previously told the Journal-World that many of Lawrence’s streets at one point were named after the first American political leaders, but have since been renamed. Pinckney Street was renamed Sixth Street sometime in the early 20th century.
But who was Pinckney? That’s when things get messy.
Although the Journal-World originally reported that the street was named after Charles Pinckney – who lived from 1757 to 1824 and served the state of South Carolina as governor, U.S. representative and senator – readers told the newspaper that it was possible that the street was named Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, who was the cousin of the other Pinckney.
Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, who lived from 1746 to 1825, also had a career as a statesman in South Carolina and was a veteran of the War of Independence, according to the U.S. Army history website. He was later appointed by the Federalist Party as vice president in 1800 and president in 1804 and 1808; he was unsuccessful in the three elections.
Along with their political careers, the two Pinckney served as delegates to South Carolina at the 1787 Constitutional Convention. According to the University of South Carolina, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney agreed to abolish the slave trade, but opposed the liberation of those who were enslaved. Both Pinckneys signed the constitution on behalf of South Carolina, helping it reach ratification. Slavery continued legally in the United States for almost another 100 years.
Nowak, when asked if the street could actually be named after Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, said it was possible, but that there was not enough evidence to say.
“There may not be a definitive answer,” he said.
But no matter what Pinckney the neighborhood got its name from, the reason for the name change remains the same – both Pinckney were slave owners and defenders of slavery.
Neighborhood name change process
Although the Pinckney neighborhood is recognized by the city of Lawrence in its neighborhood membership record, the city does not consider the renaming process to be a municipal government issue.
After the neighborhood determined that many residents would prefer to change the name, the PNA contacted the city to understand the rules for the name change. But the city really has none.
Danelle Walters, the city’s community development manager, told the Journal-World that the city is not active in naming neighborhoods and that registering your neighborhood exists primarily as an informational page for residents to find out how they can contact an association. neighborhood. She said she told the PNA to check her own legal documents about the name change and to follow her own bylaws.
“It is really a neighborhood decision, and there is no requirement to notify the city of its intentions to change its name,” said Walters.
In addition, the neighborhood name change is separate from the school district’s Pinckney Elementary School. In the summer, Superintendent Anthony Lewis said the district planned to hold discussions on the issue in the fall. However, it is not clear where the district is currently on the issue. District spokeswoman Julie Boyle did not respond to Journal-World’s request for an update.
Meanwhile, Littlejohn said that PNA had not heard much opposition to the name change. Despite other cases across the country where people opposed the removal of monuments and the renaming of buildings that honor slave owners or those associated with the Confederacy, Littlejohn said the general consensus of Pinckney residents is that changing the name is a good thing. idea.
He listened to some residents who think the renaming process is taking too long. But he said the process should be slow and deliberate.
“We want to make sure that people have every opportunity to tell us how they feel,” said Littlejohn. “We don’t want to leave anyone out.”
What is the next
PNA is currently collecting suggestions for the new name of the neighborhood, Littlejohn said.
Anyone who has a suggestion can send it online at bit.ly/NewNameIdeas. Although anyone can make a suggestion, Littlejohn said that the ideas of the neighborhood residents would be prioritized.
The PNA will collect the names until February 12, and then the neighborhood will start a voting process to adopt.
To date, the neighborhood has received more than 20 name suggestions, including one that would allow the neighborhood to basically keep its current name.
Littlejohn said one of the neighborhood’s residents found some evidence to suggest that Pinckney Street was originally intended to be named in honor of William Pinkney, who was also an American statesman who attended the convention to establish the US Constitution, but voted against the ratification. On its website, PNA says that Pinkney also argued against a 1789 law in Maryland that would have barred the liberation of slaves, and his arguments were turned into a pamphlet that later became influential in the abolitionist movement.
The neighborhood is also open to other suggestions. Some that have been submitted so far include naming the neighborhood after the name of Langston Hughes or with the general location of the neighborhood, with names like Riverfront, Riverside or Riverview.
For more information, visit the neighborhood’s website, pinckneyneighborhood.org/reconsidering-our-neighborhood-name.
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