A petition to rechristen New Orleans’ Lee Circle as Allen Toussaint Circle has been launched online. The idea was first floated by local musician Glen David Andrews, who tweeted the suggestion on Tuesday after the world learned of the legendary songwriter, producer and performer’s death in Madrid.
Lee Circle. Photo credit: Infrogmation of New Orleans.
The petition, which you can check out here, reads:
Let’s rechristen Lee Circle as Allen Toussaint Circle, with an appropriate memorial.
There isn’t a more fitting individual or a less divisive solution to the “monument issue.” Few New Orleanians have contributed so much to the city, the nation and the world – advancing our culture, creating amazing music with such a huge diversity of artists. As Jazz Fest’s Quint Davis said, “he was a one-man Motown.”
Only Louis Armstrong could approach his stature, and of course he has a park named in his honor.
At this time of great sorrow for all lovers of New Orleans music and culture, such a move would unite us in a way we have not seen since the events of 10 years ago.
Calls for the removal of public monuments that honor the Confederacy increased significantly following a racially motivated attack on Charleston, SC’s Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, which left 9 people dead this past June. The uproar forced the State of South Carolina to remove the Confederate battle flag from its capitol grounds, and eventually inspired New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu to call for the removal of a number of monuments across the city, including the statute of Confederate General Robert E. Lee at Lee Circle. Opposition to the monuments stems from the fact that the Confederacy was a collection of states that, in their own words, seceded from the United States in order to preserve the institution of race-based slavery.
The new petition was created by a Facebook group called Allen Toussaint Circle. The group is asking those that are interested in seeing the monument changed to email Mayor Mitch Landrieu at [email protected].
New Orleanians, and music lovers across the world, have been mourning the death of Toussaint, who passed away at the age of 77 following a show in Madrid. Our own Jan Ramsey penned a remembrance of her friend, while musicians from New Orleans and beyond also paid tribute to the the man and his musical genius.
