Gaithersburg City Council considers reviewing streets and roads named after slave owners

A resident email sent to the Gaithersburg City Council is sparking a discussion to review and change the names of some streets and roads that are named after slave owners.

In the email, the writer, who lives on Tschiffely Square Road in the Kentlands, said that the neighborhood road is named after Frederick Tschiffely, a man who owned slaves and tried to sell one by placing an ad in the Montgomery County Sentinel.

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It’s something some other surrounding neighbors told FOX 5 on Friday they weren’t aware of.

“See, I didn’t even know,” said Jeffrey Toole. “But when I did find out I was like ‘Wow that’s a little disturbing.’”

The question of whether to rebrand buildings, streets, and towns is part of a broader conversation about systemic racism around the world, sparked in part by the death of George Floyd.

“I think it deserves attention and I think any of those representations should not be honored,” Toole continued. 

“If it offends that many people then make a change,” said Valerie Neal.

While some people believe in a name change for the road, others suggested leaving it alone. 

“I think they’re going overboard with it,” said Rodney Berkoski. “You gotta stop at some point. You can change all the names and rip down all those statues you want but it doesn’t change history.”

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Then there is also the question of public safety, particularly how such a potential future change could impact response time from police and fire.

Pete Piringer with the Montgomery County Fire Department said that while this is going to be a long process, the department receives the appropriate notifications for any changes. Meaning, if someone calls 911 with an address, all street names and addresses are computerized with the help of their communication center.

Meanwhile, in a statement to FOX 5, city mayor, Jud Ashman said that at this point the council is, “doing some fact-finding with the intent to have a broader public discussion in the near future.”