A former North Carolina Supreme Court Justice will no longer be honored as the namesake of a downtown Hillsborough street.

The town’s Board of Commissioners unanimously voted on Monday to approve a petition from Thomas Ruffin Street residents to change its name. All 12 households on the town-owned road had voiced their desire for a new street name that better reflects community values, with their efforts culminating in a public hearing and town board vote.

Initially, the residents planned to request the name be changed to Hope Lane. On Monday, however, several spoke about their desire to change it to Lydia Lane in honor of an enslaved woman at the center of a state Supreme Court case Ruffin ruled over in 1829. North Carolina v. Mann is known for Ruffin’s decision to not criminally punish slave masters for any battery committed on their slaves. Lydia is the name of the slave who was shot and injured by the defendant in the case, John Mann, as she attempted to run from punishment.

Residents spoke in support of this new name, saying the change would still acknowledge the history and impact of Ruffin’s decision while honoring someone different.

Hillsborough Commissioner Kathleen Ferguson, who made the motion to approve the residents’ request, said she believed this new name best reflects the duality of history and Ruffin’s impact on the state.

“Thomas Ruffin was a complicated character and was not all bad,” said Ferguson. “What they have chosen, in my opinion, supports our greater community goals of inclusivity and [is] still respectful of history.”

Ruffin was a Hillsborough resident and is buried in the town at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church Cemetery. In addition to his court rulings that disenfranchised Black people, historical accounts detail his life as a slave owner and slave trader. In recent years, the Orange County Courthouse, UNC and the North Carolina Supreme Court have all moved to remove elements honoring Ruffin due to his history.

Part of the Hillsborough board’s approval includes a 60-day delay on changing the road from Thomas Ruffin Street to give staff time to order new signage and go through address changes before officially moving to using Lydia Lane.

The full Hillsborough Board of Commissioners meeting can be found on the town’s YouTube channel.

 

Photo via Tammy Grubb/News & Observer.

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