Zephyrhills may rescind naming street after MLK Jr.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/8633514.htm?1c

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"Irene Dobson thought it was time that this town best known for its bottled spring water had a street named after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the nation's most famous civil rights leader.

So last year she persuaded the City Council to change the name of Sixth Avenue to Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue.

But the City Council on Monday was poised to vote again on the issue after months of dissent from opponents and some residents of the avenue who claimed they didn't want to change their addresses and weren't consulted. Others say naming a street after King could hurt the town's economy, as streets named after the slain minister frequently run through depressed neighborhoods.

Only a handful of cities and towns nationwide have named streets after King only later to change their decision

"It's just a racist thing. They say it's not, but I wasn't born yesterday," said Dobson, who is black and has lived in the area for more than 50 years."

oh man, typical repug thinking. They think that streets named Martin Luther King are in poor neighborhoods because of the street's name, rather than because the streets were named Martin Luther King because the residents are the disenfranchised. Oh thats classic.

Im telling you man, just when you think you've got those racist Floridians nailed down they throw you a curveball.

but let me just say it's been quite "interesting" coming to this town from a fairly liberal area in the north. I tell stories to friends still living up north about the kind of things people say and do down here and sometimes they don't believe me; they think I'm making it up.

What these people also miss is that King's message was not solely focused toward Blacks, it was a message meant for every race. What do they teach these people in the schools here?

I don't see why they couldn't name streets and avenues like they do in NYC, like 6th Ave. is also known as "The Avenue of The Americas" and 7th Ave. is "Fashion Ave." 6th Ave. in Zephyrhills could also be known as "Martin Luther King, Jr. Ave."; no one has to change their address and since the town is really not that big, neither the post office nor town residents should be confused whenever someone uses either name.