Texas County Drops Proposal to Rename Highway for Charlie Kirk After More Than 100 People Show Up to Oppose It

Meredith Seaver/College Station Eagle via AP

Proposal to rename part of Texas highway in honor of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk failed Monday after more than 100 local residents showed up at the county commission meeting to oppose the idea.

Kirk, 31, founded TPUSA in 2012 and grew it over the years to become a multimillion-dollar organization that had chapters in colleges across the country and held several conferences each year for young conservative activists. He was speaking at an event at Utah Valley University on September 10 when he was fatally shot.

Tyler Robinson22, was arrested for Kirk’s murder and faces seven charges, including aggravated murder. The state is seeking the death penalty.

Following Kirk’s death, numerous projects were proposed across the country to honor his life, including statues, memorials and the renaming of roads. Although Kirk has been lionized on the right since his death, he has also drawn widespread criticism, and these proposals have sometimes met with strong opposition, particularly when Kirk did not have a clear connection to the region or the politics were less MAGA.

The proposed renaming that was under consideration Monday by the Bastrop County Commission sought to designate a portion of FM 969 (a “farm to market road” about 30 minutes east of downtown Austin and maintained by the Texas Department of Transportation) the “Charlie Kirk Corridor,” according to the Austin, American Statesman.

Bastrop County Commissioner David Glass put the proposal on the meeting agenda, along with “background information” stating that the county “recognizes the importance of honoring distinguished individuals whose commitment to civic values, public engagement and leadership has made lasting contributions to political life in the State of Texas and the United States”, and “Kirk’s activism has emphasized civic participation, free speech and political engagement among young people, building a national network student activists and influencing political discourse on college campuses and beyond.”

News of the potential name change spread quickly through the local community and, according to the latest report from the Statesmanthe commission meeting was “filled” with “[m]“More than 100 people” were opposed to the idea.

Glass asked to table the resolution early on and so no action was taken. He told the Statesman that he had received numerous emails over the weekend regarding the resolution, without providing details.

“I’m going to take a breath and have some more conversations with my constituents,” Glass said, but said in a later email to a Statesman reporter that he did not intend to resubmit the name change resolution.

“We won’t all agree, but we can agree to disagree,” Glass said. “I totally disagree with everything Charlie Kirk said.”

Local residents had brought signs simply saying “NO” in capital letters, to show their opposition, and despite tabling the question, several of them still spoke during the public comment portion of the meeting. Those who opposed the name change received applause and cheers from the audience, according to the Statesman.

Many of those who spoke against focused on Kirk’s comments about race and the lack of local ties to the area:

Sumai Lokumbe, who spoke against the resolution, said comparing King and the work he did for civil rights to Kirk was “a disgrace.” “We need to start promoting equality, we need to start loving each other,” she said.

If FM 969 is to be renamed, Lokumbe said, it should be named after someone who has done something for the Bastrop community.

Dock Jackson, the Democratic candidate for county judge, said that after black slaves were freed in 1865, they established a freedom colony in the area of ​​FM 969. “With that history and the fact that Charlie Kirk, to my knowledge, has no relatives or ties to Bastrop County, I don’t think the court should pass a resolution approving this street name change,” he said.

“Charlie Kirk was one of the most polarizing political figures,” said [Ruth Todd]. Naming a road in her honor doesn’t unite the community, she said. “This sends the message to an important part of our community that their comfort in their home country does not matter.”

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