Bridge Naming Citizen's Input: Beall and James Are Top 2 Submissions....Plus lots of Other Names....

1,069 folks submitted input.

Removing duplicates, 804 unique individuals submitted names for the bridge.

Chappie James was the number 1 name selected

Philip D. Beall was the number 2 highest total.

Lots of other variations submitted, see chart above.

This information will be provided to the bridge naming committee--who knows, maybe they will just combine the #1 and #2 top picks for names and combine them to form the

"Chappie James-Philip D. Beall Memorial Bridge"

It will be interesting to watch how this goes.

Thanks to all citizens that participated and provided input!

Learn from History-Don’t Erase It!

Although America is the greatest nation in the history of mankind-our history is one of violence and cruelty to many.  But we have evolved and improved as a country.  Some want to erase history by tearing down statues and taking down monuments for political correctness' sake.  I think this is dangerous, and I DO NOT support this....History is what it was, not what we wish it had been...

In 2021, the  $427 Million replacement bridge now under construction over Pensacola Bay will be completed.  Current FDOT policy and practice dictates replacement structure(s) carry the same designations as the original structure(s) replaced-absent any new legislative action.

In this instance and by an act of the Florida legislature in 1961-the bridge connecting Pensacola with Gulf Breeze is officially recognized as the “Philip D. Beall Sr. Memorial Bridge”—although most locals call it the “3-Mile Bridge.”  (Sen. Philip D. Beall was a State Senator from Pensacola from 1935 until 1943.)

But some folks now insist we give this replacement structure a new name—stripping the Beall family name and re-naming it the Daniel R. “Chappie” James bridge.  (Chappie James was a decorated combat aviator, the first black man to become a 4-star general in the U.S. Military.)

I believe a better tribute for a great man like Chappie would be for us to rename Pensacola’s airport in his honor—after all, Chappie was an aviator!  If Louisville Kentucky can rename their city’s airport for their favorite son, Mohammad Ali, then why can’t Pensacola do this same thing for Chappie James?

Beall’s descendants have suggested a fair compromise amidst all this rancorous debate—a dual designation of the bridge, honoring both men. 

Unfortunately- this magnanimous, common-sense gesture was rebuked.

Our legislative delegation, meanwhile, has signaled its willingness to introduce legislation to change the bridge’s official designation-- if this is the will of the four interested communities.

Pensacola and Santa Rosa County have already taken formal votes on this.

Escambia County and the city of Gulf Breeze, however, have wisely moved forward with a committee approach for considering this issue--allowing individual citizens a voice in this decision.   (citizens may send their thoughts to:  namethebridge@myescambia.com )

I’m hopeful this committee will listen to all sides of this matter with open minds.

Because sadly--some folks that are supportive of changing the bridge’s name have now resorted to denigrating a family’s legacy by calling Sen. Beall a “racist”- an insidious claim that has no basis in fact!

This negative turn in the discussion has been devastating to Beall’s descendants. 

Senator Beall’s daughter sat in my office going through memorabilia recently—and emotionally asked me this: “Why do they want to erase my family’s history-our family wasn’t racist?”

Nevertheless-- individuals pushing to tear Beall’s name from the bridge continue assaulting his legacy, pointing to legislation the senator sponsored in 1935 that made Democratic primaries statewide "white only."

But these primaries were ubiquitous in the 1930s south; the Supreme Court decision in Grovey v. Townsend ruled that such primaries were lawful and didn’t deprive citizens of their 14th or 15th Amendment rights.  It was about party politics of that time, not race.

Meanwhile-- every racist injustice committed by Andrew Jackson, FDR, Robert Byrd, and other historic figures that have monuments locally and nationwide---apparently, these are a non-issue.  (Jackson owned slaves, FDR force-segregated black troops and illegally interred American Citizens of Japanese descent. Byrd was in the Ku Klux Klan—yet all these guys’ monuments stand proudly?)

It’s rank hypocrisy that’s borderline delusional.

Allowing ANY angry mob to become the de facto “monument police,” re-writing our history to suit their agenda and ideology, condemning selected historical figures while ignoring historical realities, acting as judge, jury and executioner to erase history—this is wrong!  

I don’t-- and we shouldn’t—countenance the sanitizing of history by condoning the forceful destruction of statues, the removal of monuments, and/or the stealing of families' memorial designations----on the orders of ANY angry mob. 

Email to the Bridge Naming Committee

The Escambia County/City of Gulf Breeze joint committee on the naming of the replacement bridge over Escambia Bay is currently taking input from citizens.  I sent the below email yesterday.

Citizens are encouraged to send their thoughts to this committee that will be making a "name" recommendation to the Escambia Board of County Commissioners and to the Gulf Breeze City Council later this summer.

You can read all about this issue via my multiple posts on this whole issue here

Input can be submitted via this email address:  NameTheBridge@MyEscambia.com

Escambia-Gulf Breeze Bridge-Naming Committee Holds Organizational Meeting

Last night the Escambia County-City of Gulf Breeze Bridge-naming committee held its first meeting.

The purpose of this committee is to take public input and decide on a name for the replacement structure for the existing Philip D. Beall Sr. Memorial Bridge that is being built over Pensacola Bay.  Current FDOT policy states that absent legislative action, a replacement structure carries the existing designation

However there is a movement afoot to pull the existing designation and rename the replacement structure in honor of General Chappie James.

My personal feelings on the subject have been well documented:  I will never vote to remove a historical memorial designation on a whim.  Never.  I also believe that the aviator Chappie James was truly a great American Hero and that we should honor him locally, in his hometown, by re-naming Pensacola's airport in his honor--as Louisville recently did for their hometown hero Muhammad Ali.

Ultimately, the committee will make the final recommendation for our consideration, though.

8 of the 9 members of this newly-formed committee were present, along with an equal number of members of the public, myself, Commissioner Robert Bender, and media representatives from the PNJ and WEAR ABC.

At this meeting, and after we went around the room and all in attendance were recognized and allowed to introduce ourselves, Gulf Breeze attorney Timothy Burr was selected as chairman and some initial housekeeping items were addressed as follows:

--County staff gave a brief overview of the sunshine law and its applicability to this group.

--Chairman Burr took input from committee members and the public and the group decided upon three meetings for input from the public and an eventual decision meeting where the committee would hopefully vote on a name.

(Public comments were allowed in a very informal manner and will be a part of the meeting agenda's going forward; Kirke Beall spoke (grandson of Philip Beall Sr.) and I spoke as well. Multiple  members of the committee and the public spoke and were heard.)

--June 11th, 5:30 PM  Escambia County Commission Boardroom
--June 12th, 5:30 PM Gulf Breeze (venue TBA)

--July 9th, final committee meeting for decision, 5:30 Escambia County Commission Boardroom

Escambia County staff committed to taking for action the committee recommendation that an email address be established and monitored and advertised that will allow citizens to give suggested names for the bridge.  This information will be shared with committee members one-week prior to the next meeting on June 11th.

Committee Approach to Naming Replacement Bridge a Prudent Way Forward

The committee approach to selection of a memorial namesake for the replacement 3-mile bridge is the prudent, rational, and intelligent way forward that the BCC will pursue.

Today at the committee of the whole, Commissioner Bender added an item to the agenda at the table.

The item was a discussion on the process of determining a name for the replacement bridge under construction over Pensacola Bay.

A citizen's initiative movement has been gaining momentum with the singular focus of having the designation of this replacement bridge changed from the Philip D. Beall Sr. Memorial Bridge, (which the new structure, the replacement structure would carry absent legislative action) to the General Daniel "Chappie" James Bridge.

I have called for a compromise that honors both men.  This idea has been met with significant resistance.

Pensacola has voted to request the legislative delegation move to rename the bridge.

On Monday, the Santa Rosa County Commission voted unanimously to change the designation to honor Chappie James.

The Gulf Breeze city council, at their agenda review session yesterday afternoon, DID NOT add this issue as a discussion item for their meeting next week.

And today, at the BCC's committee of the whole, Commissioner Bender brought forth the idea of slowing the process down and perhaps organizing a committee to study the issue and provide alternatives that may honor our unique heritage and all area veterans that have served the country in the armed forces.  He also stated that he did not want to feel rushed into this decision.

I concurred, as did Commissioner Barry.

So next week we will discuss the formation of a BCC committee to analyze the naming protocols with the intention of having this committee make a recommendation to the BCC for us to consider.

This is a reasonable and rational approach to this issue that I believe will be favorably voted forward next week--because it is a balanced and measured, non "frenzied and harried" way to logically work through this issue so that all sides can be considered.

I look forward to this discussion next week.

You can watch the deliberations and discussions in this video.  Good discussion!

Honoring a Man's Service Should Not Become Fodder for a Controversy

The current Pensacola Bay Bridge is named in honor of former Senate President Phillip D. Beall--this photo from the 1960s documents the bridge's ribbon cutting ceremony where Florida Governor LeRoy Collins presided.....

As we celebrate today's Martin Luther King holiday and celebrate all that this leader did for our country--it is great to see so many people recognize his influence and contributions to the civil rights movement in America.  It is great that communities around our nation have freeways, streets, buildings, schools and/or bridges named for Dr. King.

Again--this is a great thing.

The Escambia County School Board has named numerous educational facilities in honor of local leaders---to include the ECSD's former administrative building on Garden Street.

The Vernon McDaniel Building at 215 W. Garden Street was the school district's administrative headquarters until 2010.  It was named for an African-American civil rights pioneer;  McDaniel, the man,  was the principal of Booker T Washington High School and he was the first African-American elected to the Escambia County School Board.  He was also the first African-American to become Chairman of the Escambia School Board.  He fought for equal pay for black school administrators and won this change through a settlement agreement with the school district.

In late 2009, the school district purchased Gulf Power's then administrative building at 75 N. Pace Blvd.  It was known by many as the "Gulf Power" Building, or the "Pace" bldg.  When the school district renovated and moved into this new administrative facility--the board was lobbied by the descendants of Vernon McDaniel to name the new school district administrative facility the "Vernon McDaniel" building.  We did this (I was a member of the school board at that time), and there was no controversy at all.  We did this because previous leadership in the school district had clearly intended that the school district's administrative HQ be named in honor of this man--this was the intention.  And so we honored the will of the leaders that championed that designation.

Fast forward to early 2019 in Pensacola and a new bridge is being constructed from Pensacola to Gulf Breeze to replace the existing one that is nearing the end of its useful service life.  The bridge currently carries the designation of  "Phillip D. Beall Memorial Bridge."  Phillip Beall was a Florida state senator and senate President in the 1943.

According to current policy and statutory regulations, FDOT intends to maintain the existing bridge's designation and apply it to the replacement bridge once the new structure is completed in 2021--because the intent of the state's legislative action of 1962 that gave this bridge this designation was that the bridge connecting Gulf Breeze with Pensacola was to honor Senator Beall.

But now here comes the controversy.....

Some folks want to take away the state's designation of this bridge and instead rename it in honor of General Daniel R. "Chappie" James--a deceased Pensacola resident who was a Tuskegee Airman and the nation's first African-American 4-Star General.

There is no doubt that Chappie James and the James family's descendants are deserving of this honor.  No question at all.

The surviving family of Senator Beall, however, would prefer to keep the name of the new bay bridge as the Phillip D. Beall bridge is is standard practice and as comports with state law and administrative practice.

But seeing the brewing controversy--the Beall family has offered an olive branch in the form of an initiative to have the new bridge carry the designation of BOTH men--Senator Beall and General Chappie James.   Thus far, this offer has apparently fallen upon deaf ears--which is disappointing.

The movement and the group behind renaming the bay bridge in honor of Chappie James apparently have no interest in allowing the replacement bridge to share the designation jointly.  This group wants the bridge renamed for General James.  This group instead prefers to honor Sen. Beall with a memorial plaque at the foot of the new bridge--while actually renaming the new bridge to honor General James.  They intend to accomplish this via a legislative change in Tallahassee.

But is this the right way to go about this?

As I look back at what the school district did in 2010--I can't help but wonder what would have happened if we would have yanked away the McDaniel designation and replaced it with some other worthy individual's name?  What if the designation was changed and a non-African-American figure was instead honored?(there are/were many worthy teachers, administrators, fallen war-hero former students, school board members, and/or others that might very well deserve this honor...many) 

But really, what would have happened? What names would we have been called if we pulled this designation?  I don't know for sure but it would have been ugly and embarrassing....Glad it didn't happen is all I'll say--because we did the right thing with that decision.

And so nobody knows how this new bridge-naming controversy will turn out.  For my part, I would like nothing better than to have to two factions work together to achieve an amicable resolution to this issue that all sides could respect. 

Because after all--if we could bring both of these men back to life and show them the bickering and machinations taking place behind these "efforts"--I believe both men would be disappointed.  They know what most of us know.

Honoring a man's service and legacy should never become fodder for controversy.......