Austin & Travis County Name Change
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In Memory of Leslie Cochran
In the spirit of true diversity and the healing of generational wounds, we are striving to change the racially charged names of the City of Austin and the County of Travis. Will you join us?
Ironically, Austin and Travis County are among the most diverse and friendly places in the world. Yet their very names derive from a history of slaveholding and Anglo oppression of Latinos and Indigenous people-groups.
The namesake of Austin, Stephen F. Austin, the racist "Father of Texas," was granted permission to bring Anglo settlers into Texas when Texas belonged the Mexican people. Most of the settlers Austin recruited came from the southern slave-owning portions of the United States. Under Austin's development scheme, each settler was allowed to purchase an additional 50 acres of land for each African-American slave brought to the territory.
The namesake of Travis County, fugitive slave retriever William Barret Travis, emmigrated to Texas as a young married man when it still belonged to the Mexican people. Some of his early work involved helping slave owners capture runaway slaves. Travis frequently clashed with Mexican authorities who opposed slavery.
By honoring these pro-slavery figures, Central Texas sends a "dogwhistle" to the world that we have "whitewashed" our history of discrimination and hatred. These names have a subtle, psychological effect on every person in Austin and the County -- which may explain why a tolerant and progressive city like Austin has continued as one of the most economically segregated cities in America.
Our moment in the sun is now: to pull up the weedy overgrowth of discrimination all around us, and thow any official labels of Austin or Travis into the compost bin where it belongs!
In our petition, we will call upon the County Commissioners Court and the City of Austin to draft a joint resolution establishing a task force to begin soliciting suggestions for new names and to put forth ballot referenda to officially change the names and provide the necessary funding for this long-overdue act of social justice.
A petition drive to the City of Austin alone will cost approximately $75,000. This will be our starting point. Will you help us rid our community of the seeds of racial discord and intolerance with a donation of any size?
In the spirit of true diversity and the healing of generational wounds, we are striving to change the racially charged names of the City of Austin and the County of Travis. Will you join us?
Ironically, Austin and Travis County are among the most diverse and friendly places in the world. Yet their very names derive from a history of slaveholding and Anglo oppression of Latinos and Indigenous people-groups.
The namesake of Austin, Stephen F. Austin, the racist "Father of Texas," was granted permission to bring Anglo settlers into Texas when Texas belonged the Mexican people. Most of the settlers Austin recruited came from the southern slave-owning portions of the United States. Under Austin's development scheme, each settler was allowed to purchase an additional 50 acres of land for each African-American slave brought to the territory.
The namesake of Travis County, fugitive slave retriever William Barret Travis, emmigrated to Texas as a young married man when it still belonged to the Mexican people. Some of his early work involved helping slave owners capture runaway slaves. Travis frequently clashed with Mexican authorities who opposed slavery.
By honoring these pro-slavery figures, Central Texas sends a "dogwhistle" to the world that we have "whitewashed" our history of discrimination and hatred. These names have a subtle, psychological effect on every person in Austin and the County -- which may explain why a tolerant and progressive city like Austin has continued as one of the most economically segregated cities in America.
Our moment in the sun is now: to pull up the weedy overgrowth of discrimination all around us, and thow any official labels of Austin or Travis into the compost bin where it belongs!
In our petition, we will call upon the County Commissioners Court and the City of Austin to draft a joint resolution establishing a task force to begin soliciting suggestions for new names and to put forth ballot referenda to officially change the names and provide the necessary funding for this long-overdue act of social justice.
A petition drive to the City of Austin alone will cost approximately $75,000. This will be our starting point. Will you help us rid our community of the seeds of racial discord and intolerance with a donation of any size?
Organizer
O Calleigh Tim
Organizer
Austin, TX
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