Video: Streets Named After Dr. King Represent Legacy and Decline in Some Neighborhoods

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COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) — Streets named after Civil Rights icon, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. were meant to honor the man who changed America with his message of love and equality. Still, today many of those roads and neighborhoods are on the decline. Some say this holiday, we should remember the importance of maintaining the roads for King’s legacy and the next generation.

The Monroe County NAACP held it’s annual King Day Service in Aberdeen at the Greater Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church where Spencer Gunn serves as Pastor. Gunn says King’s legacy is about all people being equal in the eyes of God.

“His idea was that in the eyesight of God there is no black or white or gender, there’s just children of God,” says Gunn.

The City of Aberdeen re-named a road just off Highway 25 to honor Dr. King. Those who live on King Street
say it makes them feel connected to his legacy.

“It’s a privilege to live on a street named for Dr. Martin Luther King because of all of the things he has done for us,” says Javarius Dobbs, who lives on King Street in Aberdeen.

With over 900 streets named after King nationwide, complaints of crime and poor maintenance have overshadowed their significance. Though a small portion of King Drive in Columbus could use some maintenance, it has managed to stay in good condition overall.

“Unlike some communities where these streets have become full with pot holes and dilapidated houses, the MLK street in Columbus is still well kept and it’s something we’re all proud of,” says Leroy Brooks, District 5 Supervisor in Lowndes County.

Brooks also says it’s important for the next generation to use the street’s name as inspiration to continue King’s legacy.

King Drive in Columbus was formerly 25th Street but was re-named over 20 years ago.