Alexandria will rededicate a West End street this weekend that was named after a Confederate leader more than 70 years ago.
On Saturday (July 11), Mayor Alyia Gaskins will help rededicate Stevens Street as Moses Stevens Street for a Black entrepreneur who founded Mount Jezreel Baptist Church. Since 1953, the street was named after either Confederate Brigadier Gen. Clement Hoffman Stevens or Confederate Brigadier Gen. Walter Husted Stevens, the chief engineer of the Army of Northern Virginia.
The event will be held from 10-11 a.m. at the Alexandria Black History Museum (902 Wythe Street) and will include comments from Gaskins, members of the Stevens family, genealogist Char Bah and Del. Gretchen Bulova (D-11), who is also the director of the Office of Historic Alexandria.
The city said the rededication will not require street signage or address changes.
In 1953, City Council deliberately named dozens of streets after Confederate leaders. The action was intended to intimidate the city’s African American population, Bulova said.
Seventy years later, in 2023, City Council embarked on a renaming process for those streets, keeping the last names for some roadways and “assigning new meaning to an existing street name without changing it,” according to the city.
Four street names were changed in 2024. N. Breckenridge Place became Harriet Jacobs Street, Forrest Street (named after the Ku Klux Klan founder) became Forest Street with one “r,” Jordan Street became Thomasina Jordan Street, and Early Street became Earley Street in honor of Charity Earley.
Last year, City Council moved forward with a plan to rededicate four streets named after Confederate leaders — Calhoun Avenue, Stevens Street, Frost Street and Iverson Street. Calhoun Avenue, Stevens Street and Frost Street have been rededicated, and City Council’s Naming Committee held a public hearing on April 30 on a proposal to rename Iverson Street as Edmonson Street.
Street sign image via Google Maps; map via Google Maps
