NAACP investigating why Panama City ignores MLK Boulevard

AP ^ | Sunday, April 14, 2002 | N/A

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PANAMA CITY, Fla. - NAACP leaders want to know why only 11 percent of businesses and residents on the city's Martin Luther King Boulevard use the name of the slain civil rights leader for their addresses.

Most of the businesses continue to use the names of Cove Boulevard or State 77, as the road was called before it was renamed eight years ago.

[stainlessbanner]

Panama City Ping!

[Commander8]

Have you ever noticed that in almost every city that has a Martin Luther King drive/street/boulevard/overpass/court/terrace/place, the street is almost always in the bad part of town?

[Free the USA]

The next move will have government forcing the change.

[billbears]

Good God!! Tell me this is a joke stainless. Don't these people have something better to do? Why have the folks in Panama City not changed the name of their street in the phone book? Why indeed? Who gives a crap why? Weren't they supposed to be in the business of advancing something? What was it again? Oh, I know how proud Martin Luther King must be. LOL!! The NAALCP has lowered itself to chasing street signs and battle flags. Yeah, they're really advancing something. What, I don't know...

[4CJ]

According to the Panama City telephone directory, only 14 businesses and 11 households use the Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard address, out of 222 property owners on the road.

ROTFL! This is the NAACP's idea of advancing their cause?

[RangeRatt]

Unfortunately, Bill, MLK Blvd in Panama City is by far one of the worst areas in town. At least it was when I left a few years ago. Pizza delivery drivers wouldn't go down there on a bet, much less on a delivery, and would only drive through that are to get to the "better" neighborhood on the other side.

Now, after coming back to PC, the street has been widened to 5 lanes, a lot of the crappy "falling down" houses and questionable businesses have been closed and razed, and the area is experiencing a "rebirth", of sorts. I am not sure where the 220 figure came from, but there are a lot less homes and businesses on Cove Blvd. (oops, I mean MLK) now than there were 3 years ago. Personally, as a resident, I am glad to see the change.

[stainlessbanner]

IMO Qweezy Way sounds much better than MLK Blvd.

[Drew68]

Also posted here in the News/Activism forum if anyone's interested.

[stainlessbanner]

Thanks Kalashnikov_68 - my quick search did not find the article.

Admin Moderator, you can pull this duplicate thread.

[billbears]

Herbert Howard, president of the local NAACP. "If there needs to be a battle done beyond there, that's what we will have to decide."

Don't know Herbie, what is there to decide? What're you going to do? Boycott people going to their houses? 'Y'all can't go down there until you change the name on your address to what we want it to be.' That's mighty neighborly of them < /sarcasm>

[stainlessbanner]

Boycott people going to their houses?

LOl! that's a classic!

[aomagrat]

According to the Panama City telephone directory, only 14 businesses and 11 households use the Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard address, out of 222 property owners on the road.

Maybe the other 197 property owners have moved to a better neighborhood.

[Drew68]

my quick search did not find the article.

When I went to News/Activism to search for the link (searches have to be in each forum) I used MLK and pulled up nothing (even though MLK is in both titles). It was only when I used NAACP that I was able to find it. I think the search engine might be a little screwy.

[Charles Henrickson]

Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard

Have you ever noticed that in every city that has one of these, they always have the real long name (sometimes even adding "Dr.")? Just plain old "King St." wouldn't do.

Dead white guys usually just their last name: Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, etc.

[potlatch]

I applaud the the people if they did not want the name change. At some point the Post Office may refuse to deliver mail until they put the 'correct' addresses on things.

[Salman]

125th Street in Manhattan, New York City was renamed Martin Luther King Boulevard, but nearly everyone still calls it 125th. And in that neighborhood, nearly everyone is black. And the NAACP doesn't bother about it, even though it affects more people than anything in Panama City.

Do you suppose there's something in particular (besides publicity) that the NAACP is after in Florida?

[Colt .45]

Its called choice! This has to be the most assinine thing I've heard of ... "we will force you to use MLK Blvd on your addresses." I am not a racist, but stupidity is stupidity and it trancsends color and gender. THIS IS STUPID!

[Jeff Chandler]

Have you ever noticed that in almost every city that has a Martin Luther King drive/street/boulevard/overpass/court/terrace/place, the street is almost always in the bad part of town?

I think of it the same way I thinks of the garish, "art" the cities put on the freeway overpasses and walls in those areas (I don't mean grafiti, I mean official ehtnic art). I consider them both to be warnings to visitors to stay away from that part of town.

[Jeff Chandler]

"we will force you to use MLK Blvd on your addresses."

You vill use this name, und you vill like it!