We are neighbors organizing to change the name of Edmund Boulevard to Lena Smith Boulevard. We believe that Walton’s pivotal role in promoting racial segregation and racial discrimination should bar him from the public honor of an official place name, and that Smith's role as an early civil rights advocate is worthy of broader official recognition. We began as a small group of white people conscious of the harmful effects of segregation both in our own lives and throughout the Twin Cities area. We felt responsible to initiate this change and we welcome the full participation of people of color in this group. 

 

As part of a broader local reckoning with the history of covenants, we gained more capacity by working alongside the Longfellow Community Council, Council Member Aurin Chowdhury and Ward 12 staff. We also benefited from many engagements with community partners and neighbors, including many who suggested Smith's name as an alternative. On other parts of this site, we outline our community engagement work and related news coverage. Feel free to reach out to us directly at the below email address, or join our contact list.

We are organizing on behalf of the public at large, and out of respect for the countless people of color who have been harmed here by the legacy of racially restrictive covenants since 1910. We acknowledge that the creation of Edmund Boulevard and the use of covenants followed the forced dispossession of the Dakota people, whose ancestral homelands we now occupy.