Anthony Foxx had one last, quiet but important mission before he left the Obama administration last week: setting in motion what’s needed to rename sections of North Carolina highways to honor two of the state’s civil rights icons.

The outgoing transportation secretary, and former mayor of Charlotte, signed proclamations last week calling on the North Carolina Department of Transportation to name a yet-to-be determined section of interstate in Mecklenburg County the “Julius Chambers Memorial Highway” and a portion of I-85 in Durham County the “John Hope Franklin Memorial Highway.”