On July 25, dozens of supporters and protestors sat in for the third official meeting at the Northside Regional Library that discussed a potential name change of the library system. CBS 19 reported on the heated 45 minute public comment period.
One man, dressed as Thomas Jefferson himself, claimed that the former president did not have children with Sally Hemings, a woman he enslaved, and that he attempted to abolish slavery, according to tweets from community member Molly Conger, who was present at the meeting. Click to see the photo.
Reclaimed Roots Descendants Alliance, an organization for Charlottesville residents who have lineage with those enslaved in the area, were among the early individuals to call for the name change in May. The change wouldn’t erase the history of Jefferson, they say. But keeping his name on public libraries would continue to hurt minority communities.
In order to make a change, each participating locality would need to agree. JMRL member localities include Charlottesville and the counties of Albemarle, Greene, Louisa and Nelson. Louisa and Greene have already passed resolutions against the name change.
While we can’t cover every story that’s important to you, we do our best to be responsive to your needs. We use tips from readers to choose which stories to cover, to incorporate information into broader reports or to help us decide how to grow Charlottesville Tomorrow. Here’s where you can tell us what you think we should be covering.
Read more about how we learn
Starting your summer vegetable garden? Here’s why you might ask a Charlottesville High School student for help
The nonprofit Cultivate Charlottesville built its first school garden in 2010, and now two schools offer courses for credit on how to farm.
Now that City Schools is the sole owner of the local technical high school, officials must figure out how to pay the $5.5 million price tag
Albemarle initially tried to purchase CATEC to do major renovations and updates, but Charlottesville said no, citing concerns for its students’ continued access.
Charlottesville City Schools becomes the third district in Virginia to pass collective bargaining
Teachers and other City School workers will soon negotiate contracts.
More local News
Residents rage to City Council on the ‘hidden tax increase’ coming next year
Rising real estate assessment values will inflate Charlottesville tax bills further in FY2024 unless the Council lowers the tax rate.
A developer’s proposal could bring a grocery store back to Fifeville
Woodard Properties proposed a supermarket, community space and new apartment building to the Charlottesville Planning Commission last week.
Find Charlottesville Tomorrow journalists at two professional conferences this week
On Thursday, we’ll be at the annual meetings of the Association of College & Research Libraries and the Virginia Coalition for Open Government.
Charlottesville’s only homeless shelter for elderly and seriously ill people is about to close, but construction of the housing that will go up in its place has been postponed
“Developing this type of housing is never simple and straightforward,” said Julie Anderson, with Virginia Supportive Housing.
