HOLLYWOOD, FLA. (WSVN) - A street fight in Hollywood is coming to a close, Wednesday.
After a years-long battle, city commissioners are have voted on the new names to replace three streets named after Confederate generals and a member of the Ku Klux Klan.
The days are numbered for Lee, Hood and Forrest Streets, named after Confederate Generals Robert E. Lee, John Bell Hood and Nathan Bedford Forrest, the first grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan.
The new names for the streets will be Liberty, Hope and Freedom streets. City commissioners voted unanimously, and all but one commissioner was present.
Although the vote to strip the streets passed, it was not without controversy.
“Robert E. Lee … was a great man,” said one protester at the commission meeting.
“My great-great-grandfather was a confederate soldier, and I’m proud of that. How can you erase history?” said one woman.
“You have inspired a virtual army of constituents who will work to remove you from office,” said Cynthia Baker who opposed the name change.
However, many were in favor of the changes.
“They were out to destroy the government of the United States. Why should they be heroes?” said Benjamin Israel in a previous commission meeting.
Israel later spoke after commissioners made the final vote. “I want to thank you commissioners for doing the right thing. This is for future generations,” he said.
“There should be no symbols of them in Hollywood, Florida, or in general. They should come down,” a woman said.
Once the maps have been changed and the county has been informed, the city can begin the process of putting up the new signs. The old signs will most likely be sold for scrap metal.
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