Lexington is mourning the loss of Mayor Frank Friedman, who died Thursday, July 2, following a medical emergency.

Lexington Mayor Frank Friedman passed away Thursday night, according to city manager Tom Carroll.

In Lexington, the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Parade is an annual tradition.

Saturday will be the last day of business at the store.

As this city continues to address its complicated past, leaders are preparing to host their first official Juneteenth event downtown.

LEXINGTON, Va. – Lexington city leaders are considering how to adopt a policy to rename streets tied to the Confederacy. Someone could approach the city council with a proposed name change one week and then return with a different idea two weeks later. City leaders are working on a policy they hope everyone can agree on, but some citizens are not on board. A petition circulating online is asking Lexington City Council to rename five streets: Confederate Circle, Jackson Avenue, Lee Avenue, Rebel Ridge Road and Stonewall Street. Mayor Frank Friedman said the council’s been working on a renaming policy for months after a petition called on them to rename statues, buildings and streets with history based in the Confederacy.

LEXINGTON, Va – For the first time in more than 100 years, the Commonwealth of Virginia did not observe Lee-Jackson Day. Despite it no longer being a state holiday, the Virginia Flaggers and the Stonewall Brigade of the Sons of Confederate Veterans still gathered in Lexington to celebrate the day. Virginia Military Institute removed its Stonewall Jackson statue and the cemetery formerly named for the Confederate general is now named Oak Grove. Friedman said it’s important that his community continue to have hard discussions about what will be best for the city moving forward. The same groups are expected to gather at the Stonewall Jackson statue on Saturday morning followed by a parade along Main Street.

LEXINGTON, Va. – After weeks of conversation, the Lexington City Council voted Thursday night to change the name of a cemetery named after a Confederate general. Effective immediately, Stonewall Jackson Cemetery has been renamed Oak Grove Cemetery. “That area of Lexington probably in the 1700s was a grove of Oak Grove,” said Mayor Frank Friedman. Signage and other materials will soon change on the property. Mayor Friedman said city staff will begin that work immediately.

LEXINGTON, Va. – A petition was filed Thursday in an effort to stop the renaming of Stonewall Jackson Memorial Cemetery in Lexington. Here are the final four options: Unity Cemetery of Lexington, Oak Grove Cemetery of Lexington, Main Street Cemetery of Lexington and Lexington Memorial Cemetery. The attached comments and petition are hereby officially submitted for the City Council & City Attorney to review, accept and acknowledge. To date: 8/6/2020 we have 5,411 individuals who oppose the renaming of the Stonewall Jackson Memorial Cemetery. It is also being sought out that Stonewall Jackson is federally protected because Stonewall is a veteran and is protected by the Veterans Administration.

Fighting to preserve that history while creating equality, perhaps no other city in Virginia embodies the commonwealth’s identity struggle like Lexington, a liberal community with deep Confederate roots. “I think certainly in the past the Confederate history of this region has been much more prevalent. As we have progressed, I don’t see as many people coming for the Confederate history,” Friedman said. Robert E. Lee is crediting with saving Washington College (now Washington and Lee University) after his surrender to the Union. He said there is a great interest from people wanting to learn about these sites and community history.

LEXINGTON, Va. – The question of whether Confederate monuments should stay or go is on the mind of leaders and the communities across Southwest Virginia. Robert E. Lee is buried in Lexington under Lee Chapel on Washington and Lee’s campus. Stonewall Jackson is also buried in Lexington, at the Stonewall Jackson Memorial Cemetery. “This is not something that invites Unity, invites participation, invites equality. Like, ‘Why is the Stonewall Jackson cemetery called the Stonewall Jackson cemetery?’ It originated with the Lexington Presbyterian Church and they essentially gave it to the city," explained Freidman.