Just Say No to King Street in Carbondale

In virtually every major city in the United States and a lot of minor ones, some street or road has been renamed Martin Luther King Boulevard in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Last week, a group of citizens in my current hometown of Carbondale, Illinois, proposed that the community of 20,000 (plus another 20,000 or so from Southern Illinois University) do the same thing.

Today, I wrote a letter to the city manager asking him to recommend against it. Just say no to King Street!

The actual proposal in Carbondale is to rename Mill Street, one of the oldest streets in town, to King Street in honor of Dr. King and his wife, Coretta Scott King. To those proposing the change, I say please go back to the drawing board and start again.

This proposal appears, on the surface, to be a feel-good proposal with no real thought or effort behind it. In that way, it is unworthy of Dr. King's memory and legacy.

Furthermore, it neglects the history of Carbondale.

Finally, the timing is poor and the message is lost.

The primary reason that the city should opt against renaming Mill Street to King Street is that it is simply an inadequate means to honor Dr. and Mrs. King. Seriously, does anyone think of the Kings and their dream when driving down Martin Luther King Boulevard in any community? Half the time the road itself serves as a reminder of the racial divide that still exists, demarcating the "African American" section of a community.

I believe that if we want to honor the Kings, a much more appropriate means could be developed. Carbondale has an active Girls and Boys Club, annual events associated with Attucks' School, the old segregated school, and multi-racial neighborhoods that could benefit from playgrounds and programs that honor the Kings. These ideas would take a lot more work than just naming a street after the Kings, but would also do much more to honor the Kings and promote their dreams and goals.