September 03, 2008 News+Opinion » Will Moredock

The Arthur Ravenel Bridge needs a new name 

Cleaning Up the City

by Will Moredock
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There is an apocryphal story about the dirty politician — by some accounts he's in New York, by others, it's Ohio — who holds public office for many years and upon retirement is honored with having the new courthouse named in his honor. A short time later a grand jury indicts him on a raft of public corruption charges, and he is tried and convicted in the courthouse which bears his name.

Is it true? I've heard it several times, but I cannot prove it. Yet, like most such stories, it makes a point. As long as he is alive — and perhaps for some time thereafter — a person has the opportunity to make a fool of himself. Officials should not make fools of themselves by naming public facilities for living people. It's an invitation to embarrassment.

A few weeks ago I wrote a column about Arthur Ravenel, perennial politician, former congressman, 81-year-old member of the Charleston County School Board. In the 1990s, then-Congressman Ravenel secured the federal funding to build the magnificent bridge which now spans the Cooper River between Charleston and Mt. Pleasant. In a gesture of appreciation to the congressman, local officials gave the new bridge his name.

That bridge is so ethereal, arching like a gleaming silver rainbow across the water, carrying its travelers under its heaven-bent spires, depositing them gently on the far side, having just granted a brief, exquisite view of the harbor, the city, the sky, perhaps even the world. It's a contrast to the life and career of Arthur Ravenel, who spent his life in the political sewers of South Carolina, denouncing civil rights and women's rights. As recently as 1999, he referred to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People as the National Association of Retarded People.

In truth, this beautiful old city is laden with monuments, plaques, and tributes to ancient racists and slaveholders. More than a century and a half after his death, John C. Calhoun, defender of slavery and apostle of states' rights, still lords it over the city from his 40-foot pedestal in Marion Square.

But Arthur Ravenel? He's a symbol of everything Charleston and South Carolina are trying to put in their past. Worse than that, he is still making a fool of himself in the 21st century.

As all sentient Charlestonians will recall, Ravenel entered the Charleston County School District offices last spring, demanding to see Superintendent Nancy McGinley over a school board agenda issue. In that now infamous confrontation with a district employee, he reportedly declared that he had gotten rid of one "bitch" and he would get rid of another. He was referring to McGinley and to former Superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson.

Asked about the incident by a Post and Courier reporter, he at first denied the remark altogether; the next day he sorta, kinda confessed, saying he had used the b-word, but could not remember the context.

Ravenel has made no apology for his behavior. I suspect that he considers it beneath himself to bother, just as it was beneath the well-bred Charlestonian to treat these two professional women as equals. (And, by the way, he did not "get rid of" Goodloe-Johnson. She took a job as head of the Seattle public school system.)

I closed my June 18 column with the suggestion that it is time to remove Arthur's name from our bridge. He is simply not worthy of such an honor, whether you measure that worth by the first 50 years of his career, or by his most recent, inexcusable outburst.

Whether Ravenel reads the City Paper or not, his friends might. Several folks wrote in to chastise me and attest to his sterling character and steadfastness on behalf of family and southern values. "I have always felt so fortunate to know a man like Arthur Ravenel, a true gentleman!" one wrote.

I have no doubt that when Cousin Arthur is standing on some South Battery veranda with a julep in hand and the harbor breeze blowing through his hair, he is the soul of gentility and charm. And why not? He is among peers. He would never call these people or their wives bitches. But the rest of us are fair game for his patrician arrogance. He can treat us like, well, like his employees. That's what he did with McGinley and Goodloe-Johnson.

I say again it is time for a change. Let's find a new name for our bridge. To start the process, we must notify our county legislative delegation about our concerns and suggest a new name. Of course, it's a long shot, but if we don't do something, we will have the Arthur Ravenel Bridge lording over us for the rest of our lives.

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The Arthur Ravenel Bridge is a prominent structure in Charleston, which compliments the lowcountry skyline and its historical structures. I agree that the bridge should be re-named, but not for the liberal reasons stated in the article above. This new bridge in our harbor should be named "The Skyline Bridge" as it towers penisular Charleston in the background. This new name would help put this new bridge on par with the Brooklyn Bridge, Golden Gate Bridge, and the Sunshine Bridge. The roadway over the bridge should maintain the name of Arthur Ravenel, because he was the politician that succeeded at pulling the necessary capital to fund the bridge. All in all, I still refer to the Arthur Ravenel Bridge as, "The Cooper River Bridge" as I did with the old trestle bridges that once spanned the Cooper River.

Posted by Ctown on October 20, 2008 at 2:46 PM | Report this comment

Y'all have it all wrong. We should take advantage of Mr. Ravenel's name and make sure the bridge should be an enforcement of everything he stands for. Let's see...make it a toll bridge and only black folk should pay the toll. All white people, with the exception of kinfolk, should pay half a toll...and women better not be drivin' on this bridge!!!!!!!!!!

He is an embarrassment. If this is truly the ideal that we want this bridge to stand for, then perhaps its time to build a better bridge.

Posted by JoeMama on September 6, 2008 at 9:42 AM | Report this comment

After reading this article, and being a woman raising daughters, I agree that the bridge along with all the hypocritical monuments, plaques, and so forth should be renamed. The fact that Ravenal is a member of the Charleston County School Board bothers me. This is a man (along with other members) that has a say of how our children, male and female, are educated. By the sounds of things (with his "Southern Values") he would not only segregate the school system by race but also by gender. Some southern values is what got the south into trouble in the first place.

Posted by love_cherish80 on September 4, 2008 at 11:15 PM | Report this comment

wanna change the name of the bridge? The solution is sooo terribly simple it borders on insanity!...just stop using the present name altogether! Call it the Goober Bridge! And tell all your friends to refer to it as the Goober Bridge...If it goes on long enough no one will remember the real name and it'll just be known as The Goober...

Posted by only the shadow knows on September 4, 2008 at 6:43 PM | Report this comment

It's good that's opinions are like assholes, everybodies got one,

Posted by Cruisemaster on September 4, 2008 at 5:08 PM | Report this comment

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