Tweet
Arlington NAACP working to have Division Street renamed MLK
ARLINGTON -- Bankhead Highway, the Pike, U.S. 80, Texas 180: through the decades Division Street through Arlington has had many identities.
Now the NAACP's Arlington Branch wants it to have one more. The group, led by President Silk Littlejohn-Gamble, plans to petition the city and state to rename the prominent 8-mile stretch of highway for slain civil-rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. An online petition has been circulating since January, and the NAACP's "End the Division" campaign will kick off Saturday with a march down Division Street that will end with a rally and news conference at Cowboys Stadium.
The proposed tribute to King, a Baptist minister who won the Nobel Peace Prize for his work to end racial segregation and discrimination through nonviolent protests, has brought together community leaders from various backgrounds and represents a positive step toward addressing race issues in Arlington, Littlejohn-Gamble said. In 2006, her family became the focus of national headlines after someone wrote "Kill" and "Die [n-word]" in red spray paint across the garage doors of their Ross Trail home.
"In the city of Arlington, for too long, we've been burying our heads in the sand, afraid to speak up and challenge the status quo, but now so many are finally coming together to say it's time to make our city a true open city for all," Littlejohn-Gamble said. "It's time to heal these wounds. Besides, we owe this honor to Dr. King, who was a believer in bringing all mankind together."
The Texas Transportation Department will consider renaming all or part of Division Street, which is a state highway, or installing memorial signs with City Council approval, Public Works Director Keith Melton said. The city typically requires at least 80 percent of property owners on a street to sign a petition for a name change before it can be approved by the council and implemented, he said.
Volunteers have begun collecting signatures from businesses, a task Littlejohn-Gamble said she knows will be a challenge.
"This is a marathon. It's a process. It's a movement," she said. "We're not going to stop until it's done."
Changing the name would be costly for business owners, who would have to update their signs, advertising, business cards and other stationery, some said. Arlington is studying how much it would cost to replace the dozens of street signs.
One longtime Division Street business owner said she reveres King but wouldn't want the street name changed out of practicality, not disrespect.
"Do you know what it would cost me to have all my letterhead and invoices changed? It would be expensive," said the owner, who did not want to be identified for fear of losing business. "He has been honored here in Arlington and in cities across the country. He has community centers named after him, highways, freeways. It's not like his legacy has been ignored."
'A lot of history'
Arlington Mayor Robert Cluck said Arlington NAACP members approached him with the proposal months ago. Cluck has not approved putting the item on the council agenda for discussion, something the group requested this month.
"That street has a lot of history and lots of businesses," Cluck said, adding that he would consider naming another road or facility. "I just don't think it's an appropriate street. I don't see that happening."
Littlejohn-Gamble called suggestions to rename a less prominent street shameful and embarrassing. She said she was beyond disappointed that the city had not embraced the initiative years ago.
"How disrespectful is that? That means you don't value or respect our voice, our needs, to say just put him on a back street so he won't be visible," she said. "Why should we put him on a side street? He wasn't no 'hood brother. He was a brother for everybody. He was global. He damn near walked on water."
Councilmen Jimmy Bennett and Robert Rivera say the city should explore ways to further honor King while respecting the rights of property owners. Bennett said he supports the installation of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. memorial signs along Division, which would not require a name change.
"We have to be realistic that the odds of obtaining 80 percent or higher of those who own property is not going to happen. Memorialization of a street brings attention to Dr. King but it does not impact businesses and residents who might reside on it," Bennett said. "It's no cost to the property owner and no loss of identity or history."
But designating Division Street a memorial highway would bring signs only where the street enters the city, not along the entire stretch, Silk Littlejohn-Gamble said.
"It still says Division. To me, that is not good enough," she said.
Rivera and more than 50 other politicians, professional athletes, clergy, and community leaders are publicly listed in support of the proposal. The idea isn't new to him. Three years ago, Rivera presented a proposal to the council to install street sign toppers in honor of King, Cesar Chavez, and the Vietnamese and Muslim communities.
But the council rejected the proposal after receiving hundreds of phone calls and e-mails from residents who objected.
"The success of what must be a unifying endeavor rests upon the will of the community," Rivera said of the latest effort.
Symbolism noted
Arlington already has streets named for sports figures and politicians, including Nolan Ryan Expressway and the Tom Landry and Ronald Reagan highways, the NAACP noted. Naming a major street for King could improve relations between residents and city administrators and give minority residents more confidence in city leaders, the petition says. Littlejohn-Gamble said: "There was no controversy when they named Nolan Ryan, George Bush, Reagan ... even when they named the park after the mayor. Why is there controversy now?"
The state and national NAACP support the End the Division campaign and are expected to participate in the rally Saturday. State NAACP President Gary Bledsoe said Division Street is fitting to be renamed for the man "who stopped the rupture of our nation and allowed it to come together."
"He was the one that healed division. Division is something that is not good," Bledsoe said. "The symbolism does not escape me."
Fort Worth is the only city in Tarrant County and one of more than 730 cities nationwide to have a road named for King, who was assassinated April 4, 1968, in Memphis. U.S. 287 from East Loop 820 South to downtown Fort Worth was renamed the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Freeway in the early 1980s, though memorial signs were not installed until 2007 because of the cost, according to the Star-Telegram archives.
Arlington has a public tribute to King, the 86-acre Martin Luther King, Jr. Sport Center in southwest Arlington.
Many names
In the early 1920s, Division Street, which runs parallel to the Union Pacific line, was known as the Bankhead Highway, after Sen. John Hollis Bankhead, according to the Arlington Landmark Preservation Commission. Over the decades, the highway designation changed to the Pike, U.S. 80, Division Street and Texas 180.
"There is some attachment to the name of the street beyond just what property owners would be concerned about," former Mayor Richard Greene said, adding that U.S. 80 once extended all the way across the United States and brought presidential parades through downtown Arlington. "Highway 80 is not quite in the category of Route 66, the 'Mother Road,' but it does have its followers."
Over the years, properties along the highway declined as east-west traffic through Arlington was diverted to Interstate 20 and Interstate 30.
The city is working on a $93,745 initiative to redevelop and beautify the section of historic Division Street, now best-known for lot after lot of used-car dealerships, that runs between the entertainment district and downtown.
Littlejohn-Gamble said the city has the money to assist businesses with expenses they may incur if the street name changes. In the meantime, the group will consider going to the state to request memorial signs.
"We feel like the city should embrace this initiative," she said. "We need to start looking at who we are putting in office and take our voice to the ballot box. If there are businesses who don't want to do this, we need to watch where we spend our money."
ARLINGTON -- Bankhead Highway, the Pike, U.S. 80, Texas 180: through the decades Division Street through Arlington has had many identities.
Now the NAACP's Arlington Branch wants it to have one more. The group, led by President Silk Littlejohn-Gamble, plans to petition the city and state to rename the prominent 8-mile stretch of highway for slain civil-rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. An online petition has been circulating since January, and the NAACP's "End the Division" campaign will kick off Saturday with a march down Division Street that will end with a rally and news conference at Cowboys Stadium.
The proposed tribute to King, a Baptist minister who won the Nobel Peace Prize for his work to end racial segregation and discrimination through nonviolent protests, has brought together community leaders from various backgrounds and represents a positive step toward addressing race issues in Arlington, Littlejohn-Gamble said. In 2006, her family became the focus of national headlines after someone wrote "Kill" and "Die [n-word]" in red spray paint across the garage doors of their Ross Trail home.
"In the city of Arlington, for too long, we've been burying our heads in the sand, afraid to speak up and challenge the status quo, but now so many are finally coming together to say it's time to make our city a true open city for all," Littlejohn-Gamble said. "It's time to heal these wounds. Besides, we owe this honor to Dr. King, who was a believer in bringing all mankind together."
The Texas Transportation Department will consider renaming all or part of Division Street, which is a state highway, or installing memorial signs with City Council approval, Public Works Director Keith Melton said. The city typically requires at least 80 percent of property owners on a street to sign a petition for a name change before it can be approved by the council and implemented, he said.
Volunteers have begun collecting signatures from businesses, a task Littlejohn-Gamble said she knows will be a challenge.
"This is a marathon. It's a process. It's a movement," she said. "We're not going to stop until it's done."
Changing the name would be costly for business owners, who would have to update their signs, advertising, business cards and other stationery, some said. Arlington is studying how much it would cost to replace the dozens of street signs.
One longtime Division Street business owner said she reveres King but wouldn't want the street name changed out of practicality, not disrespect.
"Do you know what it would cost me to have all my letterhead and invoices changed? It would be expensive," said the owner, who did not want to be identified for fear of losing business. "He has been honored here in Arlington and in cities across the country. He has community centers named after him, highways, freeways. It's not like his legacy has been ignored."
'A lot of history'
Arlington Mayor Robert Cluck said Arlington NAACP members approached him with the proposal months ago. Cluck has not approved putting the item on the council agenda for discussion, something the group requested this month.
"That street has a lot of history and lots of businesses," Cluck said, adding that he would consider naming another road or facility. "I just don't think it's an appropriate street. I don't see that happening."
Littlejohn-Gamble called suggestions to rename a less prominent street shameful and embarrassing. She said she was beyond disappointed that the city had not embraced the initiative years ago.
"How disrespectful is that? That means you don't value or respect our voice, our needs, to say just put him on a back street so he won't be visible," she said. "Why should we put him on a side street? He wasn't no 'hood brother. He was a brother for everybody. He was global. He damn near walked on water."
Councilmen Jimmy Bennett and Robert Rivera say the city should explore ways to further honor King while respecting the rights of property owners. Bennett said he supports the installation of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. memorial signs along Division, which would not require a name change.
"We have to be realistic that the odds of obtaining 80 percent or higher of those who own property is not going to happen. Memorialization of a street brings attention to Dr. King but it does not impact businesses and residents who might reside on it," Bennett said. "It's no cost to the property owner and no loss of identity or history."
But designating Division Street a memorial highway would bring signs only where the street enters the city, not along the entire stretch, Silk Littlejohn-Gamble said.
"It still says Division. To me, that is not good enough," she said.
Rivera and more than 50 other politicians, professional athletes, clergy, and community leaders are publicly listed in support of the proposal. The idea isn't new to him. Three years ago, Rivera presented a proposal to the council to install street sign toppers in honor of King, Cesar Chavez, and the Vietnamese and Muslim communities.
But the council rejected the proposal after receiving hundreds of phone calls and e-mails from residents who objected.
"The success of what must be a unifying endeavor rests upon the will of the community," Rivera said of the latest effort.
Symbolism noted
Arlington already has streets named for sports figures and politicians, including Nolan Ryan Expressway and the Tom Landry and Ronald Reagan highways, the NAACP noted. Naming a major street for King could improve relations between residents and city administrators and give minority residents more confidence in city leaders, the petition says. Littlejohn-Gamble said: "There was no controversy when they named Nolan Ryan, George Bush, Reagan ... even when they named the park after the mayor. Why is there controversy now?"
The state and national NAACP support the End the Division campaign and are expected to participate in the rally Saturday. State NAACP President Gary Bledsoe said Division Street is fitting to be renamed for the man "who stopped the rupture of our nation and allowed it to come together."
"He was the one that healed division. Division is something that is not good," Bledsoe said. "The symbolism does not escape me."
Fort Worth is the only city in Tarrant County and one of more than 730 cities nationwide to have a road named for King, who was assassinated April 4, 1968, in Memphis. U.S. 287 from East Loop 820 South to downtown Fort Worth was renamed the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Freeway in the early 1980s, though memorial signs were not installed until 2007 because of the cost, according to the Star-Telegram archives.
Arlington has a public tribute to King, the 86-acre Martin Luther King, Jr. Sport Center in southwest Arlington.
Many names
In the early 1920s, Division Street, which runs parallel to the Union Pacific line, was known as the Bankhead Highway, after Sen. John Hollis Bankhead, according to the Arlington Landmark Preservation Commission. Over the decades, the highway designation changed to the Pike, U.S. 80, Division Street and Texas 180.
"There is some attachment to the name of the street beyond just what property owners would be concerned about," former Mayor Richard Greene said, adding that U.S. 80 once extended all the way across the United States and brought presidential parades through downtown Arlington. "Highway 80 is not quite in the category of Route 66, the 'Mother Road,' but it does have its followers."
Over the years, properties along the highway declined as east-west traffic through Arlington was diverted to Interstate 20 and Interstate 30.
The city is working on a $93,745 initiative to redevelop and beautify the section of historic Division Street, now best-known for lot after lot of used-car dealerships, that runs between the entertainment district and downtown.
Littlejohn-Gamble said the city has the money to assist businesses with expenses they may incur if the street name changes. In the meantime, the group will consider going to the state to request memorial signs.
"We feel like the city should embrace this initiative," she said. "We need to start looking at who we are putting in office and take our voice to the ballot box. If there are businesses who don't want to do this, we need to watch where we spend our money."
Comment