Rename Downtown Street to Martin Luther King St.?

[dubone]

Council vote to have city staff review other possibilities, but still left it open that Stonewall could be renamed.

I must say, though, that the arguments for chosing this particular street were bordering on juvenile. It always came back to not needing businesses to have to pay for stationery! Meanwhile, this was one of the first streets in Charlotte, and was named during the civil war.

What confuses me is that they said they had considered renaming the section of Independence through Elizabeth and Cherry. Not only is that street name not a century and a half old, but that road is already planned to be renamed anyway. It also does not have a major impact on businesses, does not go through a blighted neighborhood, passes through both black and white, is prominent and heavily traveled, and is seeing new development along it.

Why can't they just use that street and avoid the impact on renaming a downtown street that has a longstanding local history?

I actually think I am most in favor of 485, as it is a national road for a national figure. It provides the most significant prominence.

[graydog]

^ I watched the council debate tonight. People in favor of an MLK street have to have a high level of frustration with the city on this issue. Mitchell's arguments seem to reflect that frustration.

The city needs to have more backbone than they've had in the past regarding objections to this idea. King paid the ultimate price for blacks and other minorities. The least we can do is incur some extra money for stationery, no?

What wasn't said, I think, is that a lot of people don't want to be located on an MLK road because of the negative associations such roads have in other cities. Atlanta comes to mind. Let's face it: For a lot of people, MLK St. implies black which implies poverty and crime.

The 485 naming was interesting in that no one would have it as an address. Convenient right? But really, what visibility would it receive as a small portion of the highway? The other suggestion, a street in Elizabeth between Cherry and 7th, was a bit weak because the street doesn't have the visibility or importance deserving of King.

That said, we should move quickly on this, yet not so quickly that we replace one part of history with another. As Warren Turner said tonight, Dr. King was about love. He wouldn't favor eliminating an historical reference in order to honor him.

I hope we can find another road and I hope the council will look beyond its world at prominent city streets owned by the state.

If we can't recognize King with something simple like a street name, how can we make all Charlotteans feel like they belong?

I haven't researched the idea, but what about renaming Trade St. to Martin Luther King Boulevard? That would put it next to the old Brooklyn neighborhood. A large portion of it is in vibrant and prominent neighborhoods. It's a major Charlotte street that crosses the center city. A major road with King's name would show we are truly committed to bringing this city together like never before.

[graydog]

Can't we just say Kings Drive is now named in memory of Dr King? It's alerady named "King" and no one's address has to be changed. All we have to do is put an apostrophe in there and we're done. King's Drive.

According to the city staffer who spoke on this issue tonight, there was a proposal to rename King's Drive to MLK a few years ago. She said it was defeated because of the historical significance of King's Dr.

[dubone]

Just to clarify, graydog, the "street between Cherry and 7th" is none other than E. Independence Boulevard. That is the other street identified by Mitchell, but inexplicably abandonned basically because he liked the idea of Stonewall being in Second Ward. That is a major boulevard, and better yet, the name was already planning to be changed due to confusion with the Independence Boulevard that is an expressway (they used to be the same road). The very fact that Independence was already to be renamed makes it the ideal selection if they are chosing an in town boulevard.

By the way, (just to provide some spice here ) are you nuts about renaming Trade? The whole idea of renaming a street in honor of someone is to help retain history. Trade and Tryon, and most of the other streets downtown are PART of that history. For a hundred and fifty years, businesses in the old Brooklyn neighborhood had "Stonewall" as their address.

As all of the buildings are now gone, the street locations and names are some of the only things that are retained from the Charlotte of 100 years ago.

We should certainly honor Dr. King, and if asphalt is to be considered the best monument to a force of world history, then at the very least a decision should be made that doesn't revoke part of the heritage of the city. They should also use judgement beyond simply trying to avoid stationery expenses.

[dubone]

According to the city staffer who spoke on this issue tonight, there was a proposal to rename King's Drive to MLK a few years ago. She said it was defeated because of the historical significance of King's Dr.

Frankly, that statement really annoyed me. There is vastly more historical significance to Stonewall Street than King's Drive! That CDOT representative was so uninformed and indifferent. Stonewall street is one of the oldest streets in the entire city of Charlotte, and much much older than King's Drive. King's Drive didn't even exist north of Morehead until after World War II.

[Miesian Corners]

According to the city staffer who spoke on this issue tonight, there was a proposal to rename King's Drive to MLK a few years ago. She said it was defeated because of the historical significance of King's Dr.

Sorry to bore, but below is a paragraph from a paper I wrote last semester for a class at UNCC. It was about Cherry. Amusing that Kings Drive's history was used...especially since it plowed through a predominately black neighborhood.

"Home ownership declined in the 1950s as historically African-American-owned houses and land were purchased by two wealthy families and replaced with multi-family rental units. At the same time, Cherry’s place in the urban structure of Charlotte changed rapidly, evidenced by the fact that it was no longer isolated on the edge of the city, but was among its central neighborhoods. Land became too valuable and well-located for its "highest and best use" to continue as low-income housing. This fact was accentuated by two important post-war developments: the construction of Independence Boulevard and Charlottetown Mall (now Midtown Square). In 1948, Independence Boulevard became Charlotte’s first expressway, cutting through Cherry's northern edge. A second new thoroughfare, Kings Drive, was built to connect affluent Myers Park to Independence (1952). In 1958, the South’s second climate-controlled shopping center, Charlottetown Mall, was built at the intersection of Kings and Independence. Large sections of the neighborhood were demolished to make way for the two projects. Six-lane Independence and the 250,000-square foot retail center cut the neighborhood off from its connection with uptown. As land-uses changed from residential to commercial, Cherry became surrounded by office buildings, strip retail, and parking lots. As is the case in many urban areas, Charlottetown Mall declined upon the opening of two new shopping centers in suburban locations during the early and mid-1970s. With the mall’s decline, Cherry became even more isolated. "

[graydog]

By the way, (just to provide some spice here ) are you nuts about renaming Trade? The whole idea of renaming a street in honor of someone is to help retain history. Trade and Tryon, and most of the other streets downtown are PART of that history. For a hundred and fifty years, businesses in the old Brooklyn neighborhood had "Stonewall" as their address.

As all of the buildings are now gone, the street locations and names are some of the only things that are retained from the Charlotte of 100 years ago.

We should certainly honor Dr. King, and if asphalt is to be considered the best monument to a force of world history, then at the very least a decision should be made that doesn't revoke part of the heritage of the city. They should also use judgement beyond simply trying to avoid stationery expenses.

Usually I'm accused of spicing. If the only significant history to Trade is that it's old, then yes I am nuts. If Trade was a famous person or event, then no I wouldn't want to change it. But yeah, why not? Assuming Trade is just old, what do we lose? I think it could go a long way to attracting a diverse population and bridging the racial divides, if a major street like Trade was named for MLK. I guess I'm crazy like a fox. ;-)

[Miesian Corners]

Usually I'm accused of spicing. If the only significant history to Trade is that it's old, then yes I am nuts. If Trade was a famous person or event, then no I wouldn't want to change it. But yeah, why not? Assuming Trade is just old, what do we lose? I think it could go a long way to attracting a diverse population and bridging the racial divides, if a major street like Trade was named for MLK. I guess I'm crazy like a fox. ;-)

Or just crazy. So maybe Broadway in Manhattan should become MLK? Michigan Ave in Chicago? Santa Monica Blvd in Los Angeles, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills and Santa Monica? Peachtree in Atlanta? Trade Street was named such because of the nature of the indian trading path it followed.

[southclt]

It was reported tonight that they are not considering renaming Stonewall at this point.

A possiblity could be a stretch of I-485 or future I-485.

[graydog]

Or just crazy. So maybe Broadway in Manhattan should become MLK? Michigan Ave in Chicago? Santa Monica Blvd in Los Angeles, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills and Santa Monica? Peachtree in Atlanta? Trade Street was named such because of the nature of the indian trading path it followed.

I know this dog won't hunt. I know I'm in the minority.

I understand your point. In some of those cases, there is significance and even universal recognition. Michigan Ave., Santa Monica Blvd and Broadway fall into that category. Peachtree and Trade are just old. Even in Charlotte, Trade has no celebrity factor that I'm aware of, except it used to be a hangout for prostitutes.

(On a side note regarding the cost to change stationary, wait until BellSouth says it's time to add an area code. Those of us from cities like Boston know that pain.)

Anyway...

The point is, how long will it be before we have an MLK street and blacks can feel like they really belong. If you are black (I am not), what do you think of a city that cannot recognize a black hero? How do you feel a part of the community if your fellow citizens cannot sacrifice a street name and a few thousand dollars in stationary in honor of someone like Dr. King?

Like King, let's show the love, let's make the sacrifices and let's bring people together.

[dubone]

That is the thing about history, when something is old, say 200+ years like Trade Street (the name) and 150 years like Stonewall Street, they have been around for generations. Given the fact that buildings can't seem to last a century around here, the only connection Charlotte has with the Charlotte of a century ago are the street names downtown. That is practically it.

Oh, and the city name. Perhaps we should rename the city "Kingston II, NC" or "Dreamy, NC" or "DoctorMartinLutherKingJunioropolis" so that we can be perfectly unambiguous on who we are honoring.

I am completely in favor of honoring Dr. King. But we don't need to erase a centuries old downtown streetname, subtracting from our civic history, in order to do so.

[monsoon]

I read in an article that Stonewall St. is in fact NOT named for Stonewall Jackson.

According to the story about this in the paper this morning, the reason it is called Stonewall Steet is unclear. Some do believe it was named after Stonewall Jackson. Maybe they read up on it here at UrbanPlanet before going to vote at the council meeting.

[teshadoh]

But sometimes street names - even if their name or meaning are unknown - are significant in themselves. Street names & neighborhood names are strong tools used to establish a real identity for an area. Without these cultural connections, we are left with identifyless names - that you find in suburbia. 'Deergate' subdivision or 'Pinnacle Crossing' shopping center (I'm not sure if these exist or not - but likely they do in some suburb in the country) don't tell you anything about their location, or what the area is.

But names that do have some cultural affinity - do promote a greater sense of place. I know this is all very abstract & I'm not the best at describing, or even fully understanding it. But I think street names are very real - whereas as good as an intention naming a street for MLK is, unfortunately the concept of a 'MLK St' has become nationally synomonous as a 'Metropolitan Pkwy' is - it doesn't tell you much.

Maybe I'm bullcraping here - but my suggestion would be to name a federal building or park after him.

[dubone]

I think Susan Burgess said, that she would be for the renaming of Stonewall if it isn't named for Stonewall Jackson. I would put forth, as others have, that whether it was named for a stone wall or for Stonewall Jackson and then local lore attributed the street to Stonewall Jackson, that both are an indication of a long and storied history for the street and streetname.

I still think that naming streets Martin Luther King Blvd is not an honor to a national figure, as it has created a very negative reputation. His message is non-violence, but there is a significant amount of violence that takes place near his streets in most communities.

But even if there is value in naming a street for a great man, rather than a park or a building, then at least find a street that is unnamed (like the planned new streets in Second Ward Plan, or 485), a street that is going to be renamed anyway (like Independence through Elizabeth and Cherry), or a street that has a much shorter history (like any street outside of 277).

[atlrvr]

Anyway...

The point is, how long will it be before we have an MLK street and blacks can feel like they really belong. If you are black (I am not), what do you think of a city that cannot recognize a black hero? How do you feel a part of the community if your fellow citizens cannot sacrifice a street name and a few thousand dollars in stationary in honor of someone like Dr. King?

Like King, let's show the love, let's make the sacrifices and let's bring people together.

And I always thought that we went to great lengths to name things in Charlotte after local blacks....like Romare Bearden park....why? He had little to do with Charlotte specifically. Unfortunately, politicans like to play with racial issues, because it's an easy win for them. Erasing Charlotte's history in any way for someone only generally related to the city by a national movement in ridiculous. If we build a new road, or new park, or new municipal/federal building, or want to commission a new statue, then fine, honor the man, but don't dishonor the city's dwindling history out of racial politics.

[UptownGrrl]

The point is, how long will it be before we have an MLK street and blacks can feel like they really belong.

My question is, is this really the outcome? What backs this up, other than a presumption? You name a street and suddenly we have an increased sense of harmony and belonging in the city? Maybe its a temporary pride booster, but what lasting cultural improvement does it cause? Does it release any obligation to continue to seek progress, or does the response become "well, we named the street, we did our part and we're done". It strikes me as being a governmental form of lip service. But, maybe all there is agreement on is that we need to take some kind of first step.

I just still haven't heard why this is the best approach- nobody has phrased the question as a problem that needs a solution, as in "Charlotte is suffering from internal discontent and an external perception problem because we are weak on a.) promoting civil rights, b.) black history, c.) honoring the past in general (etc.) and we've talked to people and gotten input and we think the best solution is to x, y or z and these are the results we hope to acheive." In order to judge any level of success, you have to define and confront the problem before you can start offering solutions, or your actions can become meaningless. So far, it seems the only support is "other cities have one" or a purely emotional reaction of "of course, that's the right thing to do".

Personally, I think this is an opportunity for Charlotte to break from the ranks of what everyone else has done and show some real leadership by looking at more innovative, and maybe more contemporarily relevant ways to honor our icons of acheivement. But, regardless, I think we first need some clarity on what we want to achieve before we start throwing around proclamations and street signs and opening up an emotional battle that could cause more division than it helps.

[monsoon]

I completely agree uptowngrrl as the only stated reason that I have seen for doing it is that 700+ other places have done it, so we should do it here. As usual, our very timid media, is scared to death to ask this question.

[Mobuchu]

Very well said Uptowngrrl. I would post more but only have to say "ditto" to all your posts in this thread. Now we just need you to go to these meetings and express you opinion vocally.

[appatone]

As far as people saying that this will send a message and make African-Americans feel welcomed. Did electing the city's first Black city council member in the late 1800's not send a message. How about electing our first black mayor in the 1970's while the city was mostly white in population, that was fairly progressive for a southern city. How about building the Afro-American Cultural Center a new 18 million dollar Uptown facility, does that not send a message? Naming Uptown's Premiere Park, Charlotte's symbolic front yard, for an African-American who only spent his childhood here, does that? People who say African-Americans can't feel welcome until the city names a street in the heart of Uptown for MLK despite everything else the city is doing are being a bit unfair. Instead of honoring MLK (again, since he already has a statue in Uptown) why don't we recognize JT Williams, the city's first black city council member (This was the South in the 1800's!)? He was als the US consul to Seirra Leon and an architect who built one of Uptown's few remaining historical buildings in 2nd Ward. Why don't we recognize George E. Davis, the South's first black college professor (he taught a JC Smith) with a stautue? Why don't we focus efforts on saving The Grand Theatre, the last Jim Crow era, black-only theatre in the city? Why don't we name some of the new schools we are building for Dorothy Counts, Delores Huntley and, Gus Roberts, who were the first african-american kids to go to all white high-schools in Charlotte after desegregation. Why focus our efforts on changing Stonewall to MLK, there are so many better things we can do to preserve the heritage of Charlotte's African-American community and make all people feel welcome in the Queen City (even if thier is no MLK St.).

[cinco]

As far as people saying that this will send a message and make African-Americans feel welcomed. Did electing the city's first Black city council member in the late 1800's not send a message. How about electing our first black mayor in the 1970's while the city was mostly white in population, that was fairly progressive for a southern city. How about building the Afro-American Cultural Center a new 18 million dollar Uptown facility, does that not send a message? Naming Uptown's Premiere Park, Charlotte's symbolic front yard, for an African-American who only spent his childhood here, does that? People who say African-Americans can't feel welcome until the city names a street in the heart of Uptown for MLK despite everything else the city is doing are being a bit unfair. Instead of honoring MLK (again, since he already has a statue in Uptown) why don't we recognize JT Williams, the city's first black city council member (This was the South in the 1800's!)? He was als the US consul to Seirra Leon and an architect who built one of Uptown's few remaining historical buildings in 2nd Ward. Why don't we recognize George E. Davis, the South's first black college professor (he taught a JC Smith) with a stautue? Why don't we focus efforts on saving The Grand Theatre, the last Jim Crow era, black-only theatre in the city? Why don't we name some of the new schools we are building for Dorothy Counts, Delores Huntley and, Gus Roberts, who were the first african-american kids to go to all white high-schools in Charlotte after desegregation. Why focus our efforts on changing Stonewall to MLK, there are so many better things we can do to preserve the heritage of Charlotte's African-American community and make all people feel welcome in the Queen City (even if thier is no MLK St.).

well said, appatone. i think you should send this to councilmen "smudgie" mitchell, who first proposed the name change.

[teshadoh]

I agree - appatone, very interesting especially about JT Williams.

But as it has been mentioned, it does seem too often we choose specific people to give a 'face' to a movement or a cause. For this reason MLK is regarded as 'Mr Civil Rights' for the US, which he appropriately deserves. But we too often lose sight that it wasn't just MLK, but countless people that pushed the south out of the post-slavery era into the modern era. Do we recognize MLK for what HIS contributions were, or do we recognize him for civil rights.

Similiarly, in decades to come - will our children be honoring Bono for his contributions or will Bono just represent what like minded celebrities have done to better our selves?

[skylinedrive]

Regarding Stonewall St. and Stonewall Jackson:

-Both Dr. Dan Morrill from the Charlotte Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commision and Rich Woods from the local chapter of Sons of Confederate Veterans have stated that Stonewall St was NOT named for Stonewall Jackson. Thomas Jonathan Jackson didn't get the nickname "Stonewall" till 1861. I tend to trust both of their words, however anyone can go check for themselves at the Carolina Room in the Main Public Library downtown and look at the street map for 1861 or before and see that Stonewall St was there before Stonewall Jackson existed. The street might have been named in honor of someone from the Stonewall family which would be of no relation to Stonewall JAckson, however no one has come forward to claim that, and there are not any famous Stonewall's in Charlotte's history. There are already 2 roads named after Stonewall Jackson over by the Charlotte Airport.

Regarding Martin Luther King Blvd:

Charlotte has a history of naming roads after local and national historical figures; Billy Graham Parkway, Josh Birmingham Parkway, etc, etc. Martin Luther King certainly fits the bill on both a national and local level. Dr. King spent a good deal of time in Charlotte, and specifically the old Brooklyn neighborhood. It makes sense to me to rename Stonewall St after him. Charlotte already has a statue of him and a Martin Luther King Park. I think Charlotte has a chance here of bucking the trend of putting MLK Blvd in a seedy part of town. I don't beleive that just because Stonewall St is renamed to MLK Blvd that all of a sudden the gangs are going to show up and there is going to be a gunfight.

Regarding Romere Bearden:

Romere was born in Charlotte and spent most of his childhood summers in Charlotte visiting with his relatives. He also came back to visit often in his adult years. A good portion of his artwork deals with blacks living in Charlotte and his very last work before he died was about Charlotte and hangs in the Main Public Library of Charlotte. As far as I know he is the only Charlotte native to have an entire exibit of his work shown at the world famous Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

[krazeeboi]

Appatone, thanks for providing local examples of what I was saying. Great points.

[monsoon]

There is a suggestion in the printed paper today to rename Tyvola - Fairview - Sardis - Rama Rd - Idlewild into Martin Luther King Blvd. It would certainly simply the naming of that highway.

Wonder how well that would be received?

[dubone]

It is interesting that no money is being offered up for this endeavor. In fact, their number one criterion was to avoid having hardly anyone spend much money.

I would like to see it put forth as a package. It should include monuments, streetscape improvements, and local civil rights heroes receiving names for smaller streets nearby.

Here is one possible solution that I'd be for. Rename the entire stretch of old Independence as Dr. M.L. King Boulevard. That means King Boulevard (as I will call it, even if the whole kit and kaboodle end up on the street sign) would only take the portion of Stonewall east of Caldwell. The historic streetname can remain intact for the same route that it has had for a century and a half between Graham and Caldwell. However, the section that was renamed for a generation as "Independence" would get renamed again, that is the part that remains concrete. It would then continue through the rebuilt Kenilworth intersection, then through Midtown, Cherry (the first black suburban neighborhood) and Elizabeth using what is currently E Independence Blvd, which was already going to be renamed.

The other element of what I propose would be that all of that stretch, which currently has an awful streetscape, as it was engineered in the 40s/50s. It would receive streetscape improvements as intended in the Second Ward Master Plan. It would receive a median, sidewalks, street trees, and monuments. The monuments would honor Charlotte's Civil Rights heroes, prominent figures of Brooklyn, and a large monument at a major intersection would honor Dr. King. Streetscape improvements, monuments, and trees would entend all the way to 7th Street, where there in an interchange with Independence Freeway. I think that they should also fund the renovation of the Second Ward High School Gymnasium as a tribute to desegregation, as it was the first black school in the city. The money for this should come from the same tourism fund that is being proposed for use for baseball related infrastructure improvements. This is far more important than baseball.

The last part of my plan would then to create a naming system for new Second Ward Master Plan streets. There will be two streets that will built parallel to Stonewall, one between 2nd and 3rd and one south of Stonewall. Those could be named as J.T. Williams Street and G.E. Davis Street. The renovated Second Ward H.S. Gym could be named for Dorothy Counts, Delores Huntley and Gus Roberts.

Here is what it gets us:

• Stonewall St remains an active historic street name, as it has since the Civil War, whatever or whomever it was named for.

• Major landmarks that use Stonewall as a way finding tool, including LRT, can continue to use Stonewall to avoid confusion.

• Dr. King is honored with a street in Brooklyn, the black downtown neighborhood completely erased by racism and anti-urbanism.

• The only section of Stonewall that gets renamed is the section that was already a name different than Stonewall for most of the time since WWII.

• The section of Independence that would be renamed anyway is once again connected to a downtown street name.

• It is a major Boulevard with have 3 Interstate/Freeway exits.

• His Boulevard will connect downtown, old Brooklyn, Midtown, Cherry, and Elizabeth neighborhoods, with no blight, positive economic development occuring, and a community college. All of that is fitting symbolically.

• Much needed streetscape improvements can be funded, as is fitting with honoring him. The current streetscape would be a dishonor to him. It is also a fulfillment of plans in the Second Ward Master Plan which is now active.

• Dr. King's boulevard becomes a major promenade to connect pedestrians from the African American Cultural Center to old Brooklyn, Second Ward Gymnasium and the surrounding park planned, Midtown Retail, and Cherry.

• Independence boulevard was routed with very little sensitivity to the black neighborhoods it plowed through, during the era that Dr. King was beginning his crusade. Renaming this whole stretch would fulfill the poetic justice that many hope for.

What do you all think?