Maclean: Instead of renaming Calhoun Square, why not enhance Taylor Street?

This is a column by John Maclean, a retired lawyer and U.S. administrative law judge. He is a Savannah native.

We are now in the denouement of the Calhoun Square saga and I think we have all learned a lot.

First, by today’s standards, John C. Calhoun was a bad man, but as a part of history, he played an outsized role. He threatened President Andrew Jackson and Jackson threatened him right back. He gave voice to a population that used his rhetoric to fight a disastrous war.

Yet notwithstanding, that doesn’t give him permanent rights to the square. As a former Alderwomen said to me, “perhaps he has had his time.”

More opinions on the square's renaming: Why Savannah should rename Calhoun Square for Susie King Taylor

Renaming ordinances and the law

Yet the problem is that the city’s renaming ordinance doesn’t really apply to the Historic District. The ordinance appears to be a fairly ordinary ordinance for renaming ordinary streets and places.

Savannah’s Historic District is anything but ordinary. It is unique.

Because it is so unique, 14 million tourists come here to see it and spend their money. It is unique because we have not changed or renamed or torn down much of our heritage. It also likely conflicts with our state’s monument law at Section 50-3-1.

Who owns the Historic District really? Is it “51 percent of all property owners abutting the subject property” as the ordinance says? The owners might not even live here. They could be from Atlanta where the motto for their history is “burn it, bury it, build over it.”

More about the ordinance: The road to changing the name of a public space in Savannah is long, and it's meant to be

Indeed, utilizing the ordinance, property owners along Forsyth Park could petition to change the park’s name to “Disneyland Park.”

I would suggest that perhaps all citizens of Savannah are stakeholders in the Historic District, not just owners next door. Having grown up here, I certainly feel attached to its history.

My family lived downtown from the 1850s to 1950s. Perhaps the Historic District should have its own specific ordinance asking for an entire vote of City Council with input from various historical organizations and the public.

An alternate solution

For the current situation and in light of the state law prohibition against changing historical things, I propose a compromise.

Leave Calhoun where his name is buried with a marker explaining who he was. I have a feeling those 14 million tourists have no idea. There is nothing like a little education.

Then allow Taylor Street which goes by the square to be named for both President Zachary Taylor, its current namesake, and Susie King Taylor with a marker explaining who they were. Adding to history, not taking away from it is what Savannah does best.

The Massie Heritage Center could also have an exhibit illustrating Savannah’s unique slavery-based economy with reference to Susie Taylor as well. Like everything in our city, our slave economy was totally different than almost anywhere else.

I recommend Dr. Johnson’s book “Black Savannah” and Dr. Byrne’s thesis "The burden and heat of the day: slavery and servitude in Savannah, 1733-1865" for more information on the subject.

Both books are available at the library. Plus in a few months, Savannah’s own Paul Pressly will publish “Black Georgians and the Promise of Spanish Florida,” to add to the historical documentation.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Savannah should improve Taylor Street, not rename Calhoun Square