KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A year after a divisive debate that ended with Kansas City residents voting to remove the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s name from a prominent boulevard, the city is trying again to find a way to honor the civil rights icon.
Missouri's largest city started discussions about finding a new way to honor King shortly after last year's vote, but that effort stalled when the coronavirus pandemic began in the spring.
Now, the Board of Parks and Recreation is considering a proposal to rename a 5-mile-long (8-kilometer-long) route along thoroughfares that run east and west between a mostly-Black area of town and the well-known Country Club Plaza for King.
The discussion revives issues that arose when, at the urging of the Southern Christian Leadership Council-Greater Kansas City and other civil rights advocates, the City Council in 2019 renamed one of the city’s most historic boulevards, The Paseo, as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
A group of residents who wanted to preserve the street’s history and said the city had not followed proper procedures before the renaming collected enough signatures to get the issue on last November's ballot, and voters overwhelmingly chose to reinstate The Paseo name, leaving Kansas City as one of the largest cities in the U.S. without a street named for King.
Testimony at two public hearings last week suggested that finding a solution won't be easy. Some speakers supported the new proposal, while others said it wasn't a big enough tribute to King, suggested different sites or opposed the renaming of any streets.
Teresa Rynard, director of the parks department, said the park board wants to listen to all opinions to avoid making a decision that will contribute to current tensions over social justice issues in Kansas City and the nation.
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