TYLER, Texas — The City of Tyler has seen many changes this summer like the name of two high schools from confederate names.
“The ball is rolling, it's just going to roll faster,” said Ambra Phillips. “So hopefully we can get these things changed.”
Now, a group of community activist are working toward a new goal of changing Confederate Avenue’s name.
“I grew up on Ross Street, which is one street over from Confederate Street," Phillips said. "I just always felt like the name needed to change."
Friday evening 7 individuals gathered together, before splitting up and going door to door asking for support. Ashanti Jones, the organizer of the petition, says it will be a difficult task though because Smith County requires one signature from every household on the street.
“Even if we get every single signature that we need, ultimately, they can decide, no, we're not going to do this,” Jones explained. “So we need to let them know that this is a city-wide issue.”
Phillips, a Tyler native, said they weren’t just out there to get signatures though, but to also teach about how the street become Confederate Ave. to begin with.
"The street was named based on the murder of six African American Union soldiers,” explained Phillips.
The group was able to gather around 25 signatures so far, and they plan to go back out over the weekend. But Jones has plans to speak at the Smith County Commissioners meeting Tuesday 9:30 a.m. at the Courthouse Annex.
"I'm going to see what we can do about the 100% rule, because it makes it nearly impossible,” she said. “Everyone that I've talked to, with the exception of one person, has told me yes and they wanted this to happen."
Jones also started an online petition and wants to find a way to incorporate that with the other petition for people who would prefer an online option for social distancing during the pandemic.
North Confederate Ave. runs from West Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. to West Erwin St., while South Confederate Ave. runs from West Front St. to Lindsey Ln. Both roadways run through predominantly Black neighborhoods.
The group will be meeting at 5 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday at Crescent Park before breaking off into groups.