Georgia city to strip slavery advocate’s name from plaza

By RUSS BYNUM
Associated Press

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — Leaders of Georgia’s oldest city have voted to strip the name of a former vice president who advocated for slavery from a public square named in his honor more than 170 years ago. Calhoun Square in Savannah’s downtown historic district was named in 1851 for John C. Calhoun, a South Carolina politician who served in Congress, in presidents’ cabinets and as vice president over four decades. The Savannah City Council voted Thursday to remove Calhoun’s name, noting that his outspoken support of slavery helped steer the South toward secession and the Civil War. The decision comes two years after honors to Calhoun were rescinded in his home state of South Carolina, including the removal of his statue from a square in Charleston.