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To designate the 2900 block of Northumberland Avenue in honor of the late Eleanor Redd Binford. (3rd District)
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WHEREAS, upon information and belief of the Council, Eleanor Redd Binford was born in Fredericksburg, Virginia in 1933 and passed away in Richmond on July 28, 2023; and
WHEREAS, upon information and belief of the Council, Eleanor Redd Binford, as a high school student in Fredericksburg, was among 27 seniors at Walker-Grant High School who led one of the first civil rights protests, in that community and Virginia, to decry the decision of the city’s Dorothy Hart Community Center to block the Class of 1950 from holding their graduation ceremony there on the basis of race, a protest that was saluted many years later in Fredericksburg by the placement of a panel in front of the center, still in use today; and
WHEREAS, upon information and belief of the Council, Eleanor Redd Binford graduated from Virginia Union University in 1958, and began a teaching career in Richmond, during which she later earned a master’s degree from Virginia Commonwealth University; and
WHEREAS, upon information and belief of the Council, Eleanor Redd Binford taught in Richmond Public Schools, including Albert V. Norrell Elementary School, John B. Cary (now Lois Harrison-Jones) Elementary School, and Bellevue Elementary School, where she not only taught academics for 35 years but also the importance of dignity, decorum, poise, gentility, and manners, for which she became so successful that she was named on Ebony magazine’s list of America’s best Black teachers; and
WHEREAS, upon information and belief of the Council, Eleanor Redd Binford was active in many Virginia Union University alumni groups, including the Panther 100 club and various national organizations for graduates as well as being a member of the Upsilon Omega chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority and
WHEREAS, the City desires to memorialize the life of Eleanor Redd Binford for her contributions to the educational and civic life of the city of Richmond by designating the 2900 block of Northumberland Avenue in her honor; and
WHEREAS, because this designation is honorary only, the provisions of sections 8-7 through 8-10 of the Code of the City of Richmond (2020), as amended, do not apply to the designation made hereby or to any signs erected pursuant to this ordinance;
NOW, THEREFORE,
THE CITY OF RICHMOND HEREBY ORDAINS:
§ 1. Designation of Street Block for Honorary Name. The 2900 block of Northumberland Avenue shall be designated in honor of Eleanor Redd Binford, pursuant to this ordinance.
§ 2. Effect of Designation. The designation of the portion of the street made pursuant to this ordinance shall be honorary only, shall not replace the existing name of the street, and shall have no effect on the address of any property with an address on the designated street blocks. The sole effect of designation pursuant to this ordinance shall be to authorize the placement of commemorative signs in accordance with this ordinance memorializing the designation in honor of the named person.
§ 3. Administration of Ordinance. The Department of Public Works shall implement this ordinance by installing, as soon as practicable after the adoption of this ordinance, and maintaining commemorative signs in accordance with this section. The commemorative signs shall be clearly distinct from the street signs used to identify the portion of the street in question such that a reasonable person could not conclude that the commemorative signs reflect the actual name of the street. The commemorative signs (i) shall be affixed to a sign pole installed at each end of the portion of the street designated in section 1 of this ordinance for the purpose of fulfilling the requirements of this section or to any existing sign identifying the portion of the street designated in section 1 of this ordinance located at each end of the portion of the street designated in section 1 of this ordinance and (ii) shall bear the name of the person set forth in section 1 of this ordinance.
§ 4. Effective Date. This ordinance shall be in force and effect upon adoption.