We, the residents of Des Moines, are calling upon the Des Moines City Council to change the name of George Flagg Parkway.
What's in a name?
In 2002, the City of Des Moines renamed the southwestern shortcut between Park Ave and Fleur Drive from its original name, Valley Drive, to George Flagg Parkway. This change was done to honor the work of George Flagg, who served on Des Moines City Council from 1980-2002.
Flagg's tenure is not something we consider worth honoring.
In 2001, Flagg voted against a proposed city ordinance that outlawed discrimination in housing, employment and or use of public accommodations based on sexual orientation.
For several years, Flagg repeatedly voted to deny liquor licenses to “ethnic-named” applicants. His rationale for this was that he couldn't be certain that they were in the country legally and “... immigrants have been responsible for murders in our country and in our city.”
When the City proposed the road name change in 2002, there was pushback from the surrounding area for a variety of reasons. In one article from the Des Moines Register, reporter Rob Borsellino shares the racist actions of George Flagg and then speaks to some local business owners to learn about their opposition. He found they are opposed to the name change not because they are against Flagg, but because it's an inconvenience to them.
Without providing public notice or holding any hearings, City Council voted for the name change. Business owners learned about the change by reading about it in the newspaper.
Why now?
Since 2002, George Flagg Parkway has burgeoned from a Southside secret to a thoroughfare and major truck route between businesses in the SW corridor and the trails at Water Works Park and Grays Lake. The road is, indeed, highly degraded, but not just by traffic. The racist legacy of George Flagg is honored as long as the road bears his name. Makes it a symbol of the racism that is so intertwined in DSM.
Flagg's racist actions were well-known and documented when the City Council voted to approve the new road name. As the twentieth anniversary of George Flagg Parkway approaches, now is the perfect time for City Council to rectify its error.
As part of a $72 million dollar street plan in the Southwest Corridor, the city intends to significantly alter George Flagg Parkway to both raise the pavement level by several feet to decrease flood risk and realignment to connect the road with SW 30th St.
As the City and its subsequent committees consider and recommend changes regarding this plan, they should also change the name of George Flagg Parkway. Just as it is necessary to make changes to the physical structure of George Flagg Parkway in order to avoid shutdowns and detours caused by flooding, it is critical to acknowledge the systematic harm done by this racist elected official, and remove a racist monument from the infrastructure in our city.
Signed,
Des Moines Peoples' Town Hall
Des Moines Black Liberation Movement