Confederate monuments, street names could soon be changed in Atlanta

Atlanta officials are expected to announce soon how the city will go about making changes to its Confederate landmarks including street names and monuments.

The announcement by Mayor Kasim Reed could take place as early as Monday, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

In a radio interview on WABE-FM’s “Morning Edition” on Friday, Reed told Denis O’Hayer that “it really doesn’t take a scholar to understand” some names are offensive, such as Confederate Avenue. Reed also said he believes it is in the city’s purview to change street names, and “if a member of the legislature decides that they have a different opinion, that’s something that we’ll just have to have a conversation about.”

The coming announcement follows the end of a public comment period for the commission advising the city on how to deal with the Confederate memorials and monuments, according to the radio station.

This story was originally published November 20, 2017 at 2:38 PM with the headline "Confederate monuments, street names could soon be changed in Atlanta."