# Streets named after MLK across the country **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 21, 2007, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/streets-named-after-mlk-across-the-country/393130 "2007-02-21T20:19:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2007, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/streets-named-after-mlk-across-the-country/393130/1 "2007-02-21T20:19:25Z")
> **[MLK streets traverse nation's past, future - CNN.com](http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/02/19/rte.mlk.streets/index.html)** > > Four decades after the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination, the streets, avenues, boulevards and highways that bear his name remain crossroads of the nation's past and future. An interesting report. I admit I thought that most MLK streets run through predominantly poor and crime-ridden areas; perhaps not. We have an MLK here in Cleveland, and it runs through some mixed neighborhoods on the east side of the city. ---
**Author:** ![Emilio\_Lizardo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Emilio\_Lizardo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emilio_Lizardo)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2007, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/streets-named-after-mlk-across-the-country/393130/2 "2007-02-21T20:38:49Z")
See [this earlier thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=227459) on a related topic. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2007, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/streets-named-after-mlk-across-the-country/393130/3 "2007-02-21T20:53:13Z")
California Hwy 94, or “the 94” as we call it here, is also officially called the Martin Luther King, Jr. Freeway in San Diego. The neighborhoods it goes through were all pretty shitty when I moved here ten years ago, but some are better than others now. Downtown (the west end of the 94) is pretty safe these days; North Park is gradually changing from a low-income neighborhood to a predominantly LGBT area that rivals Hillcrest; downtown Lemon Grove is decent, if not generally well-off; and although a lot of San Diegans think of Spring Valley as a dangerous area, most of the parts the 94 go through (like Casa de Oro) are pretty sterile. ---
**Author:** ![leo\_rider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@leo\_rider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leo_rider)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2007, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/streets-named-after-mlk-across-the-country/393130/4 "2007-02-21T20:59:25Z")
There’s one here and they stupidly had it cross an exist King street. I guess it’s only a real problem for those on the old street, which is just a couple blocks long, but they voted not to change the name. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2007, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/streets-named-after-mlk-across-the-country/393130/5 "2007-02-21T22:15:07Z")
The one here is a major north / south artery and so runs the length of the city, crossing over every flavor our neighborhoods come in. And even though the name has been changed for several years, neither I nor anyone I know refers to it by anything but it’s original name, which is 9th St. ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2007, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/streets-named-after-mlk-across-the-country/393130/6 "2007-02-22T00:40:06Z")
Seattle has an ML King Way and Tacoma ML King Street. From what I understand, he never set foot in the state of Washington. King County in Washington was originally named for Vice President William Rufus King, an advocate of slavery. In 1986 it was renamed in honor of ML King. ---
**Author:** ![HubZilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ccd318/32.png) [@HubZilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HubZilla)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2007, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/streets-named-after-mlk-across-the-country/393130/7 "2007-02-22T01:52:40Z")
I’d be VERY shocked if Honolulu (or Hawaii) had one. Honolulu is 1.62% black (per Wiki), and I’d hazard a WAG that a majority of that is military personnel. ---
**Author:** ![Dragwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dragwyr/32/2855_2.png) [@Dragwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragwyr)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2007, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/streets-named-after-mlk-across-the-country/393130/8 "2007-02-22T03:39:21Z")
Lansing, MI has an MLK Boulevard and it goes through a pretty seedy area before it hits the insustrial auto district. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2007, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/streets-named-after-mlk-across-the-country/393130/9 "2007-02-22T03:46:13Z")
In Austin, you can tell how long someone’s lived here by what they call the streets. If you’ve been here more than 10 years, you still say “First Street” rather than “Cesar Chavez Street.” And if you’ve been here more than 20 years, you still say “19th Street” instead of “MLK.” MLK is pretty much the Southern border of the University of Texas Campus, but it also runs a long way through East Austin, which is largely black and Hispanic. So, despite Chris Rock’s joke, being on MLK in Austin doesn’t necessarily tell you much. You might be in an impoverished minority district, but you might also be grabbing a slice of pizza before going to a class. ---
**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2007, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/streets-named-after-mlk-across-the-country/393130/10 "2007-02-22T05:29:05Z")
In Albuquerque, MLK is about 2 blocks, or about 1/2 a mile long. It runs from downtown to UNM, parallel to Old Route 66 and Central. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2007, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/streets-named-after-mlk-across-the-country/393130/11 "2007-02-22T05:40:50Z")
There’s one in Lubbock, Texas. It’s former name was Quirt Avenue. A “quirt” is a short riding crop, and the verb form is to strike with a quirt. Considering that the street is in the black part of the city, you have to wonder why the street was given such a demeaning name as Quirt to begin with. ---
**Author:** ![TheOnlySaneOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/67e7ee/32.png) [@TheOnlySaneOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheOnlySaneOne)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2007, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/streets-named-after-mlk-across-the-country/393130/12 "2007-02-22T06:35:12Z")
[QUOTE=Dragwyr] Lansing, MI has an MLK Boulevard and it goes through a pretty seedy area before it hits the insustrial auto district. [/QUOTE] And in Flint, crossing MLK takes you to the North Side. Let’s just say not many people from the suburbs willingly cross MLK. ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2007, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/streets-named-after-mlk-across-the-country/393130/13 "2007-02-22T09:13:58Z")
[QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir] > **[MLK streets traverse nation's past, future - CNN.com](https://www.cnn.com/2007/US/02/19/rte.mlk.streets/index.html)** > > Four decades after the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination, the streets, avenues, boulevards and highways that bear his name remain crossroads of the nation's past and future. An interesting report. I admit I thought that most MLK streets run through predominantly poor and crime-ridden areas; perhaps not. [/QUOTE] Fresno, CA has one, and its a war zone. ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2007, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/streets-named-after-mlk-across-the-country/393130/14 "2007-02-22T16:01:09Z")
One of the main streets in Chapel Hill had its name changed from Airport Rd. to MLK Blvd. a couple of years ago, probably due to some rich white liberals who want to show how ‘diversity-minded’ they are. :rolleyes: I could probably count the black folks who live on or near that street on the fingers of both hands and have a few left over. I still don’t know why they just didn’t take all the money it cost to change all the streets signs and such and use it for, say, a scholarship for a needy minority student. It would have accomplished much more.