Memphis Finally Giving Street King’s Name

About 900 cities across America have named streets in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. since he was gunned down in 1968, but not Memphis, where he suffered his assassination (unless you count a stretch of nearby interstate highway). It appears that that all is about to change – just in time for Martin Luther King, Jr., Weekend.

The Associated Press reports that Memphis officials “will consider naming a key downtown street for the civil rights icon.” The subject is due to come up before the Memphis and Shelby County Land Use Control Board Thursday and is expected to pass.

"It was something that had a place in my heart for some time," former city councilman Berlin Boyd, who proposed the change when he was still in office, told AP. "Here is a city where Martin Luther King's blood cries from the streets, and we don't have anything to pay tribute to him."

A street renaming had been proposed in the early 1970s, but the council decided to give the stretch of highway King’s rather than a local street.

“Supporters say renaming Linden Avenue for King is more significant than the dedication of the interstate because the avenue is in the heart of the city's downtown and residents will have to use the avenue's name to give directions,” the AP reports. “They also say that new businesses along it — including two hotels set for construction — will use the King address, giving the street more importance and visibility.”