ORDINANCE NO. BL2017-665

An ordinance to amend the Geographic Information Systems Street and Alley Centerline Layer for The Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County by renaming Capitol Boulevard to “Anne Dallas Dudley Boulevard” (Proposal No. 2017M-010SR-001).

WHEREAS, Anne Dallas Dudley was the leader of the woman’s suffrage movement in Nashville, Tennessee and nationally. She was born in Nashville in 1876, was the grandniece of George Dallas -- President James. K. Polk’s Vice-President for whom the City of Dallas, Texas is named. Anne Dallas Dudley organized thousands of women to march, lobby and successfully get the Tennessee Legislature to ratify the 19^th Amendment; and

WHEREAS, Anne Dallas Dudley founded the Nashville Equal Suffrage League in 1911; and

WHEREAS, on May 2, 1914, Anne Dallas Dudley organized the first woman’s suffrage parade in the South which started in front of the Tennessee State Capitol, went down Capitol Boulevard through downtown, then down Broadway to Centennial Park; and

WHEREAS, when Anne Dallas Dudley and the parade reached Centennial Park, she gave a passionate speech on the right to vote for women in front of The Parthenon and a crowd of 2,000 telling the audience “every reform is started by a minority.” The Tennessean reported that it was the first time in Tennessee history a woman had given a speech outdoors to a crowd; and

WHEREAS, after the success of the parade, the National Woman Suffrage Association founded by Susan B. Anthony, and now known as The League of Woman Voters, accepted Anne Dallas Dudley’s invitation to hold their national convention in Nashville in November 1914; and

WHEREAS, the National Woman Suffrage Association held their convention in Nashville at The Hermitage Hotel which backs up to Capitol Boulevard. Their day sessions were held in the House of Representatives Chamber in the Tennessee State Capitol and the evening sessions in the Ryman Auditorium. This convention attracted top leaders of the movement including Carrie Chapman Catt, Jane Addams, and hundreds of other delegates from around the country, and gave Tennessee huge momentum in the woman suffrage movement; and

WHEREAS, Anne Dallas Dudley was appointed to the board of the National Woman Suffrage Association as Third Vice President in 1917 and worked with President Carrie Chapman Catt on national strategy; and

WHEREAS, Anne Dallas Dudley was one of the first women to be a Delegate at Large for the Democratic National Convention and gave a speech where she seconded an amendment at the 1920 convention in San Francisco; and

WHEREAS, Anne Dallas Dudley spent almost ten years of her life in Tennessee and organized over 60 local chapters of the Tennessee Equal Suffrage League and was a constant force in the halls of the Tennessee State Capitol leading up to the historic vote; and

WHEREAS, because of Anne Dallas Dudley’s work, the Tennessee legislature ratified the 19^th Amendment on August 18, 1920 by a slim one-vote margin, giving 27 million women across America the right to vote; and

WHEREAS, Capitol Boulevard is one of the shortest streets in Nashville, consisting of just one block, and it originally went all the way to Charlotte Avenue in front of the Tennessee State Capitol. The sole outside downtown acknowledgement of the passage of the 19^th Amendment is a single historical marker at the corner of Capitol Boulevard and Union Street; and

WHEREAS, few streets in Nashville are named for women, and Anne Dallas Dudley and other women actually made history on this street during a parade, marching and holding their national convention; and

WHEREAS, the 100^TH Anniversary of Tennessee’s historic vote occurs in 2020 and Nashville should honor Anne Dallas Dudley with this special honor.

WHEREAS, the request for the name change has been submitted by Council Member Freddie O’Connell; and

WHEREAS, the proposed request to change the name of this portion of right-of-way has been forwarded to the metropolitan planning commission, the emergency communications district board, and the metropolitan historical commission  for review and consideration, in accordance with Metropolitan Code § 13.08.015; and

WHEREAS, the community deems it appropriate that said street name be changed.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT OF NASHVILLE AND DAVIDSON COUNTY:

SECTION 1. That the Geographic Information Systems Street and Alley Centerline Layer for the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, as enacted by Ordinance No. 2015-1041, be and is hereby amended, as follows:

Capitol Boulevard, from Church Street northward to Union Street, is hereby renamed “Anne Dallas Dudley Boulevard”, all of which is more particularly described by lines, words and figures on the sketch which is attached hereto and made a part of this Ordinance as though copied herein.

SECTION 2. The Director of the Department of Public Works is hereby authorized and directed, upon the enactment and approval of this Ordinance, to cause said change to be made on said Map as set out in Section 1 of this Ordinance, and to make notation thereon of reference to the date of passage and approval of this amendatory Ordinance.

SECTION 3. This ordinance shall take effect immediately after its passage, the welfare of The Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County requiring it.       

Sponsored by: Freddie O'Connell, Karen Johnson, Mina Johnson, Colby Sledge, Bob Mendes, Jacobia Dowell, Sharon Hurt, Nancy VanReece, John Cooper, Fabian Bedne, Jeremy Elrod, Sheri Weiner, Tanaka Vercher, Angie Henderson, Erica Gilmore
             
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LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
Introduced:	April 4, 2017
Passed First Reading:	April 4, 2017
Referred to:	Planning Commission - Approved Emergency Communications District Board - Approved Planning, Zoning & Historical Committee Public Works Committee Traffic, Parking & Transportation Committee
Passed Second Reading:	April 18, 2017
Passed Third Reading:	May 2, 2017
Approved:	May 8, 2017
By: