If New Orleans City Councilmember Jared C. Brossett has anything to do with it, the boulevard that runs through the northern portion of the city near Lake Pontchartrain will soon be named after famed musician Allen Toussaint rather than Robert E. Lee, per the Associated Press. 

As one of New Orlean’s influential figures, Toussaint was a songwriter, producer, pianist and vocalist who rose to fame and received six Grammy nominations during his decades-long career. He died in 2015. 

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In the era of racial reckoning, calls for Lee’s name to be removed from streets, buildings, roads, monuments and institutions have intensified in recent years, especially following the death of George Floyd. 

Regarded as one of the rebellion’s most prominent leaders, Lee served as commander of the Army of Northern Virginia and eventually all Southern armies during the American Civil War, per Britannica. 

His opinions on slavery and abolitionists were said to be highly divisive, which is partly the reason Brossett believes it’s beyond time to make the change. 

“The City of New Orleans should prioritize celebrating our culture bearers, our diversity, and everything that makes our City special, not those who worked to tear us apart and represent a horrible history of racism that we are still dealing with today,” Brossett said in a statement. “Allen Toussaint is a New Orleans native and world-renowned musician. He represents the very best of our city.” 

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In 2020, a committee was tasked with finding and recommending new names for streets, parks and places that commemorate white supremacy, with Robert E. Lee Boulevard being among the 37 locations.