Madison should rename Pinckney Street

This week I have chosen to address an issue of 'softball' politics in order to get at something much larger. I take issue with the name of a street in Madison. On the surface this may seem like useless complaining, but I assure you I have a point. We have many streets named after the founders. The city itself is named after James Madison. However, there is one particular founder who we should not be naming streets after: Charles Cotesworth Pinckney. 

 

Pinckney street runs right up to the capital. I have several friends that share a house on the street, the scernery is suburban and gorgous as it runs down to Lake Mendota. Having such a nice street named after somebody would seem to be an honor, but not one that Pinckney deserves.

 

What is Pinckney's claim to fame? He signed the constitution and was a key player at the convention on debates about slavery. Pinckney was a slave holder, was adamant that slave trade not be outlawed and thought slaves should be counted in the census so the south could be overrepresented, so as to preserve the institution of slavery. These firmly held views led to the 3/5th's compromise and the provision that obligated the United States to continue slave trade until 1808. 

 

One could interject here and say that Madison and George Washington were slave owners, yet we have streets and even states named after them. While they were on the wrong side of history, they did other important things. Madison drafted the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, and while black people may have been excluded from the process, the Bill of Rights remains a hallmark step in the establishment of universal rights. Washington won the Revolutionary War, presided over the constitutional convention and held the country together for its first eight years under the new Constitution.  Furthermore, he was the only founder to free his slaves upon his death. Pinckney's main achievement is preserving the institution of slavery, and for that we should not honor him.

 

I am therefore calling for the city of Madison to rename the street. While we should not ignore our history, we should avoid honoring those who have perpetuated a racial system. How can we move forward if we continue to do so? Call it Adams or Douglas street, anything but Pinckney.

 

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