Voters Nix ‘Martin Luther King Jr’ As Name

[jimnyc]

They had the signage up for the street "Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd." Then I saw pictures of workers overnight removing that street name. I am surprised there hasn't been any violence over this, but glad there isn't any. In this instance, the voters clearly spoke up and want the original name back.

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Voters Nix ‘Martin Luther King Jr’ As Name

Back in January, the city council in Kansas City voted to change the name of a major road to honor Martin Luther King, Jr. without properly conferring with residents of the city.

On Tuesday, voters overwhelmingly rejected the council’s decision.

Nearly 70 percent of those casting ballots voted to remove King’s name from a historic boulevard and return its century-old name.

The boulevard, which runs 10 miles in the center of the city, has long been known as The Paseo. “The parkway holds 223 acres (0.90 km2) of boulevard parkland dotted with several Beaux-Arts-style decorative structures and architectural details maintained by the city’s Parks and Recreation department,” says its entry on Wikipedia.

Interesting points along the wide road include “Bird Lives,” a statue honoring Charlie “Bird” Parker, a jazz saxophone player; the Dr. Generous Henderson House; an unusual stoplight made of cut-stone; and Scottish Rite Temple, a “monumental Beaux-Arts/Egyptian Revival civic auditorium.” A stretch of the boulevard has been put on the National Register of Historic Places.

“The name for Kansas City’s first major boulevard was suggested by the first President of the Parks Board, August R. Meyer (1851-1905), based on the Paseo de la Reforma in Mexico City,” Wikipedia says. That road is a wide boulevard that runs diagonally across the center of Mexico City.

Ten months ago, the city council voted 8-4 to change the name to honor the iconic civil rights leader. A movement quickly emerged called “Save The Paseo,” which gathered nearly 3,000 signatures to put the name of the road in the control of voters.

“Save The Paseo, the grassroots group that pushed for restoration of the boulevard’s original name, cruised to victory,” the Kansas City Star reported. “Unofficial results showed nearly 70% of voters favoring The Paseo with just two of 124 precincts in the Jackson County portion of Kansas City still not reporting late in the evening. All other precincts across the city reported results.”

The outcome was a stunning rebuke of the City Council’s January decision to rename The Paseo to honor King, the late civil rights leader. Now, Kansas City is expected to take down well over 100 signs along the road, which cuts through the heart of the predominantly black East Side.

Rest - https://www.dailywire.com/news/voter...oric-boulevard

[jimnyc]

Yep, saw this coming. Surprised no riots still.It's always OK to take things away from others. Things that offend you should always be removed. But when it's the opposite, it's not to be tolerated. We shall see.

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Racist? Kansas City Voters Approve the Removal of MLK's Name from Historic Street

Residents of Kansas City voted overwhelmingly to remove the name of Martin Luther King from an historic boulevard. Nearly 70 percent of voters approved the ballot measure, which undid the action of the city council less than a year ago when they changed the street name from "The Paseo" to "Martin Luther King Boulevard."

Are there really that many racists in Kansas City?

The Hill:

The proposal made its way onto the ballot after several Kansas City residents pushed to restore the street’s original name, The Paseo. The residents collected 2,857 signatures in April to put the measure before voters, well surpassing the 1,700 needed.

Supporters of the proposal say the City Council pushed for changing the street’s name without following proper procedures and ignored The Paseo’s historic value in the process.

Supporters of renaming the street after King had accused opponents of the name change of being racist, the AP noted, setting up Tuesday's showdown at the polls.

The city government ignored the will of the people and acted arbitrarily. The people pushed back. They wanted their old street name that held special significance for residents.

You might guess that the law of averages made it probable that a few of those 70 percent of voters who approved the ballot measure were indeed racist. But really, are you guys pulling my leg?

This sort of thing happens all the time in towns large and small across America and it has nothing to do with racism. We call it "democracy" and it's lovely to behold.

Rest - https://pjmedia.com/trending/racist-...storic-street/