The City of Tallahassee has officially renamed a street after Anita Davis, the first female African American Leon County Commissioner.<\/p>\n
The renaming ceremony took place Tuesday outside the Jake Gaither Golf Course, steps away from Davis\u2019 former home.<\/p>\n
In 1983, Davis filed suit with the NAACP against the Leon County Commission, arguing its board was inaccessible to African Americans. That successful lawsuit is why the commission currently has seven seats, consisting of five seats representing specific parts of the county and two at-large seats. She served on the commission from 1990 to 1996. She passed away in 2021.<\/p>\n
One of the people that spoke at the renaming ceremony was Mutaqee Akbar, President of the NAACP\u2019s Tallahassee branch. He said he supports renaming the city\u2019s streets after people like Davis who he says brought positive change.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe legacy of the City of Tallahassee is not peaches \u2018n red roses. The legacy is on a lot of these street names that are named after slave owners, that are named after Confederate soldiers, like Mr. Pasco, that are named after people who don’t have a good history,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He added that she accomplished what she did despite critics, and that should be inspirational.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe things that she did, we’re applauding now, but it wasn’t applauded when she was doing it. They didn’t like the fact that she was changing the face of the County Commission. They didn’t like the fact that she was about to sue the school board. They didn’t like the fact that she was demanding change at every step that she took, and that’s what we’re here for. That’s the legacy that we’re celebrating,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Local elected officials and some of Davis\u2019 family members also spoke at the renaming ceremony. Tallahassee Commissioner Dianne Williams-Cox said Davis paved the way for her to reach public office.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was a woman who knew what to do, when to do it, and how to do it, and she wasn’t loud. She didn’t seek attention. She just did what needed to be done and advise those of us who wanted to follow in her footsteps,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
After the ceremony, the section of Pasco Street from Orange Avenue to Bragg Drive is now officially Anita Davis Place. <\/p>\n