Mayor Mattie Parker Says It's Time To Re-Evaluate Controversial Street Name: The History And Future Of White Settlement Road

Arlington TX

28 July, 2021

10:52 AM

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By Rachel Behrndt, Fort Worth Report July 27, 2021 A new name may be ahead for White Settlement Road, which surfaces difficult conversations for a booming metropolitan city trying to promote its diversity. Mattie Parker, Fort Worth's newly elected mayor, signaled her support for a possible name change for White Settlement Road. The road stretches from downtown Fort Worth west toward a town of the same name. Over the years, it transformed from a dirt road lined with prairie to a bustling thoroughfare lined by businesses. The recent completion of the White Settlement bridge presents an opportunity for a possible name change for the long-awaited connection between downtown and Panther Island, Parker said. Naming the bridge after an iconic member of the Fort Worth community is an "exciting opportunity," the mayor said. "The possibility of renaming it to something more significant to our community is a conversation that I am very open to," Parker said this week in a statement to the Fort Worth Report. "Initiating a community-driven process is something I fully support and will discuss at the upcoming Aug. 3 City Council meeting." The road falls within districts of council members Elizabeth Beck (District 9) and Leonard Firestone (District 7). Beck hasn't been able to discuss a name change with Parker but wants to have a "very serious conversation" about what an appropriate renaming would be, she said. "As we move forward as the 12th-largest city and celebrate our diversity by ensuring we don't have relics of oppression or racism glorified through the naming of our facilities or our streets," Beck said. Past discussions suggest changing the name to West Settlement, or simply The Settlement. "There has long been a conversation in Fort Worth around the name and history of the name of White Settlement Road," Parker said. READ MORE OF THE STORY HERE Fort Worth Report is a nonpartisan, nonprofit news organization that produces factual, in-depth journalism about city and county government, schools, healthcare, business, and arts and culture in Tarrant County. Always free to read; subscribe to newsletters, read coverage or support our newsroom at fortworthreport.org.