HOUSTON – On Wednesday morning Commissioner Rodney Ellis renamed named Robert E. Lee Road to Unison Road.
Ellis says if our county is going to address systemic racism in our past and present, we cannot let symbols of racism and hatred continue to fill our public spaces.
However, most people KPRC 2′s Vincent Crivelli spoke with along the road did not want the name change.
“I guess I am very emotional because we weren’t given a choice,” said one neighbor.
Another neighbor who did not want to provide their name said, “I think it’s a waste of time, I have never heard of something so ridiculous in my life.”
Ellis says residents will “get over it” and he wants to give folks on this street the chance to live on the right side of history.
“I am not doing this to get any political points. If I get a few people angry with me, that’s the political process,” said Ellis.
Several neighbors complained about the time consumption and cost to update their driver licenses and account information for multiple entities. However, Ellis said if residents can’t afford it, he’ll find resources to help.
“But oftentimes if people don’t want to do something, they will complain about the process or they will complain about something else when they are really angry that one side lost the war, they were wrong side of history and sometimes its hard to admit,” said Ellis.