A press release issued this afternoon strongly signals that Mayor Sly James does not support the proposal — being pushed by a group of black political leaders and ministers — to rename The Paseo after Martin Luther King Jr.
In the release, James said he would announce tomorrow the appointment of “a special group of trusted community members” who would be charged with recommending an appropriate Martin Luther King Jr. designation somewhere in the city. The release does not mention The Paseo.
The release goes on to say, “James will ask the group to engage the broader community to find a solution that truly honors Dr. King and his ideals of equity and respect and aligns with the city’s long-term planning goals and vision for an inclusive community.”
The mayor will make his announcement at 1 p.m. at the Bruce R. Watkins Cultural Heritage Center, Blue Parkway and Cleveland Avenue.
In a related development, the group advocating the name change has postponed a march and rally that was scheduled to be held tomorrow afternoon. The march is now scheduled for a week from tomorrow.
…I’m not sure what all this means, but it seems like a momentum stopper for the group advocating the name change. That’s good news for those of us who oppose changing the name of The Paseo, which legendary parks figure George Kessler named after Paseo de la Reforma, a thoroughfare in Mexico City.
Ken Bacchus, on KCUR’s “Up to Date” on Tuesday
Black leaders say they’ve been pushing the name change for a couple of years, yet the first significant story about it didn’t appear in The Kansas City Star until last weekend. The lack of earlier publicity about the effort suggests to me it is something of an ambush by the advocacy group, which includes former City Councilman Ken Bacchus, U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver and Rev. Vernon Percy Howard, president of the Kansas City chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
Reporter Bill Turque’s weekend story said the group planned to start an initiative petition to place the issue on the August ballot. The Star’s editorial board quickly endorsed the idea and predicted voters would approve such a proposal.
(Late this afternoon, The Star’s Steve Kraske posted a commentary related to the issue.)
I’m skeptical that voters would embrace a name change for The Paseo. I think it would be very controversial.
In a Tuesday post, I came out strongly against the proposed name change and suggested that a less historically prominent boulevard or parkway, such as Linwood Boulevard, be named after King. In addition to a few members of the public, one former KC Star reporter and one current reporter weighed in on the subject in the comments section.
Former federal courts reporter Mark Morris, now retired, suggested renaming Main Street after King. (I presume he meant the most prominent section of Main, between the Missouri River and the Plaza.)
Morris wrote: “It’s a great street, loaded with diversity, and burdened with the dullest possible name.”
That’s a good idea.
Campbell, who covers the parks department, wrote:
“My objection to renaming the Paseo is its historical importance to Kansas City, the parks and boulevard system and the City Beautiful movement. I think Linwood is an excellent alternative, also graceful and mainly residential.”
The City Beautiful movement Campbell referred to was George Kessler’s 1893 report on the city’s topography, traffic patterns and population growth. Part of his philosophy was to raise to prominence the city’s most scenic roadways. His report became the foundation of the parkway and boulevard system, and The Paseo became Kansas City’s first boulevard.
**
Today, I heard yet another good alternative…A friend, Jack Holland, a civic and visual-arts community activist, suggested the possibility of combining the names of Dr. King and The Paseo. He proposed either Paseo Martin Luther King Jr. or Martin Luther King Jr. Paseo.
I could buy either of those. One meaning of the word “paseo” is parkway or boulevard, so it would fit like a glove. All that would be lost is the word “The,” and we’d gain a fitting, lasting tribute to Dr. King.
Late this afternoon, I sent an email to Ken Bacchus, the former city councilman involved in the name-change push, to solicit his thoughts on Holland’s idea.
He didn’t say no, and he didn’t say yes. He said he was out of the city and suggested we talk in a few days.
All in all, I think we may be headed away from confrontation and away from a divisive and potentially nasty election campaign.
Happily, it appears the spine of Kansas City’s boulevard system is less in danger of losing its name.
And once again, I applaud Sly James’ independent thinking and refusal to be cowed by special interest groups.
Ole!
JimmyCsays: At the juncture of journalism and daily life in KC 
If I were advising my friend Senator McCaskill, I would hope any public vote on an MLK renaming occur in November.
She wouldn’t have anything to say about it, Tom. If the advocates got a sufficient number of signatures, the petition would be presented to the City Council, which, I think, would be required to put the measure on the next scheduled municipal election date. The first Tuesday of August is such a one.
…That said, putting it on the November ballot would probably boost the chances of passage because more people who are ambivalent would probably be inclined to vote for it.
When will The Star learn to consult this blog before taking a position on a community issue?
That’s a good one, John…I don’t know why they keep jumping the gun.
Keep the Paseo and name another street after Dr King. It would be ironic to cause controversy in honoring a man whose message was peace.
People are weighing in on this all the way from Louisville, KY! (A former KC resident, though.)
Thanks, Marcie.
I just got an email from parks and rec director Mark McHenry, who said the Park Board offered Paseo MLK or MLK Paseo as an option but the advocates rejected it.
These guys appear to be spoiling for a fight, and it’s very short-sighted. I think the mayor’s position — whatever he ultimately recommends — will tell the story. I don’t think he’s going to knuckle under. It’s well known that many black political leaders don’t like him for the very reason that he doesn’t cowtow to their wishes.
Mayor James is simply following a time-honored tradition in his approach to this issue: when in doubt, form a committee. There’s no recommendation that the panel of “trusted community members” can make that won’t upset some people.
The simplest path forward is to just put The Paseo name change on the August ballot and let the voters decide. If the name change fails, then James can appoint a committee. At that point KC can suffer through weeks of emotional committee hearings and hurt feelings. After all, we’ve got the time; there aren’t any other critical issues facing our town which need our attention.
(Full disclosure: If this issue is on some future ballot, I will vote in favor of renaming The Paseo after Martin Luther King Jr.)
I understand (regarding a November ballot). Upping African American turnout is a plus for her.