Part of West 4th Street to become Bettie Naylor Street
By Jillian Schantz Patrick
This morning, Austin City Council approved a resolution giving a five-block stretch of West 4th Street a new name.
Between Congress Avenue and Rio Grande Street, West 4th Street will be called Bettie Naylor Street.
Naylor, who died in April, was a longtime Austin advocate and lobbyist for the rights of women and the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.
Naylor is best known for her involvement and development of several social organizations including AIDS Services of Austin, Annie’s List, Atticus Circle and Equality Texas.
“She was this tiny little woman who was just bigger than life,” said Libby Sykora, Naylor’s longtime partner, speaking at the council meeting today. “She was able to bring unlike minds together and work out a compromise. Her whole idea was that there would be a win-win situation with everybody involved, and she just had the personality and intelligence and a lot of opportunity to make it all happen.”
Sykora is hoping that the honorary name of the street will encourage people to look at what they are doing to help the community.
“That was Bettie’s thought every day,” Sykora said. “What am I doing for my community? And what could we do better?”
The new street sign for Bettie Naylor Street will be unveiled during September’s Gay Pride Week.
