Langston Boulevard (formerly Lee Highway) was renamed in order to realize the years-long grassroots community effort to create a welcoming Main Street by removing the word "Highway" and to begin to reconcile the painful racial history many in our community have experienced by removing the name "Lee."
On December 9, 2020, the Working Group On Renaming Lee Highway selected its top choices for the corridor's new name. The Working Group’s preferred name was John M. Langston Boulevard. “The name Langston has had an incredible impact on the lives of so many African American children who grew up along [and nearby] the Lee Highway corridor” said Working Group Member Saundra Green. “It tells the story of the dark [racial] history of Arlington County as well as the County’s brightest time - when four students from Langston Elementary were the first students to integrate Virginia schools. This name tells the whole story of how Arlington has evolved and grown over the years.”