Texas Group Aims To Rename Robert E. Lee Road To Keep Austin 'Weird, Not Racist'

Folks in Austin, Texas, are proud of a lot of their oddities, but a street named for the commander of the Confederate Army is not one of them.

A grassroots organization called Keep Austin Weird, Not Racist is campaigning to rename Robert E. Lee Road. Residents would much prefer to honor Led Zeppelin’s lead singer, Robert Plant, who actually did live in Austin.

“Robert E. Lee Road is not what represents us,” the group said in a video on its Facebook page . “If anything, we’re more like Robert Plant Road. Aren’t we the ‘Live Music Capital of the World,’ after all?”

The group’s efforts mirror those of others around the country who want to bring down Confederate monuments, which they see as glorifying a racist history.

New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu said that even death threats wouldn’t stop his city from removing a statue of Jefferson Davis that honored the country’s history of slavery. In Florida, Tampa Bay’s three professional sports franchises all donated money to help raise funds to remove a Confederate statue in front of a county courthouse.

Many, including President Donald Trump , have opposed the actions  as efforts to “erase history” by removing these statues and memorials. 

“Is this erasing our history?” Keep Austin Weird, Not Racist said in its video. “Or is it a fresh start?”