State legislator halts plan to rename Lester Maddox bridge after Hank Aaron

Anulewicz told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that she would have only proceeded with legislation to rename the bridge with the blessing of Aaron’s family. Without it, she said she will shelve that plan.

“This is the beginning of a conversation about what’s the best way to honor Hank Aaron,” she said.

Aaron, who died last week of natural causes at the age of 86, is famous for hitting his 715th career home run in Atlanta on April 8, 1974, breaking the home run record set by Babe Ruth. The race to surpass Ruth’s home run record wasn’t celebrated by everyone. Aaron was subjected to intense racist backlash, which included death threats, as he inched closer to closing the gap.

After he retired from baseball, Aaron set up programs and scholarships for Black students. In 1999, he became the first Black majority owner of a BMW franchise, and he lobbied for efforts encouraging more young Black athletes to play baseball. Aaron and his wife, Billye Suber Aaron, in 2016 donated $3 million to the Morehouse School of Medicine as part of an expansion of academic facilities at the Atlanta institution.

Anulewicz said Aaron was an ambassador of the Atlanta Braves to the rest of the world. The team became popular outside of the Southeast during the early days of Turner Broadcasting System when Braves games were shown on televisions across the country.

“Now that the home of the Braves is in Cobb County, what we would really like to do is to honor that legacy and honor the work he’s done for baseball and his philanthropic efforts,” the state representative said.

Maddox, who died in 2003 at the age of 87, was a staunch segregationist who served as governor from 1967 to 1971.

Before entering politics, Maddox owned the Pickrick restaurant near Georgia Tech in Atlanta. When three Black patrons sought service at the restaurant following the signing of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, a pistol-toting Maddox and his ax handle-wielding supporters confronted the three people, according to his Atlanta Journal-Constitution obituary. Rather than comply with federal law and integrate his business, Maddox closed the restaurant and entered politics.

The Chattahoochee River bridge was named after Maddox in 1999.