A New Jersey town renames its parkway to honor veterans and erase a reminder of racist past

Willingboro Township has renamed the Levitt Parkway as Veterans Parkway in a tribute to those who served in the nation’s military and rebuking a piece of institutional racism in the township’s past.

On Friday morning, the township held a renaming ceremony for the parkway. Originally, the parkway was named after developer William J. Levitt, who built and founded a community within Willingboro’s bounds and named it Levittown, after himself.

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Levitt and the community’s private developers envisioned Levittown as an all-white enclave and developers refused to sell homes to Black families or allow Black residents. The Levittown in Willingboro was the third community Levitt built and named after himself. Willingboro even changed its name to Levittown for four years, until 1963. The communities — including one in Bucks County — all had similar layouts and houses with the same architecture.

The exclusionary legacy was challenged in1958, when late resident Rev. Willie R. James Sr., then a soldier serving at Fort Dix, was refused a home and sued Levitt.

Ultimately, the state Supreme Court ruled in James’ favor. Levitt had agreed to integrate before the court ruling. Several Black families had moved into the community by the time the decision came down.

Over the years, Willingboro grew into a much more diverse community. More than 68% of the town’s more than 31,000 residents identify as Black, according to the most recent Census data.

Yet, as the Philadelphia suburb grew more diverse and became a haven for Black families, the central artery still had Levitt’s name.

Over the summer, the Willingboro Township Council voted to change the parkway’s name to Veterans Parkway. That decision was then confirmed by the Burlington County Board of Commissioners since the parkway is a county road.

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The Veterans Day renaming ceremony came complete with fanfare and celebration, including a color guard troop, dancers, and Willingboro veterans marching along on a parade.

“We want to make sure that all veterans regardless of your gender, race, religion, are respected and treated as equal, and that we respect you because you have risked your lives and put your lives upfront for our safety as Americans,” Willingboro Township Councilmember Rebecca Perrone said in a statement. “We felt that it was the most fitting name to show honor and respect for all of our veterans.”