It's time for Jonesboro to honor Dr. King
By Roy Ockert Jr.
After my 4-month stint as chief of staff for the City of Jonesboro ended in early June, I had a little time on my hands so I volunteered to help with a special project. I had returned to my role an an independent adviser to Mayor Harold Perrin, but this would be outside that responsibility.
On May 30 a resolution has been introduced to rename Johnson Avenue in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Several similar proposals for other streets had failed over the years, and this one also would prove controversial.
The Public Works Committee of the City Council passed it along to the full council on June 4 by a 5-1 vote, with a couple of those voting aye specifically saying this was an issue that should not be decided in committee.
That set the stage for one of the most well-attended council meetings in years because the Team Jonesboro sales tax initiative was due for its second reading. Opponents and proponents for both issues filled the Council Chambers long before the meeting started and spilled into the lobby of the Municipal Building, where a television feed was available.
The mayor did not attend because of a family medical issue. Rather than fight the crowd, I watched from his offices.
Alderman Gene Vance started the discussion on the Johnson renaming by moving to postpone the resolution until Sept. 17, with the recommendation that the mayor appoint a committee to study the situation and bring back a recommendation for a memorial highway or a “suitable and acceptable alternative naming opportunity.”
The council then heard much debate from both sides and finally voted unanimously to postpone a decision. That disappointed both sides, but it was the right thing to do. The resolution had some holes and strong opposition.
The mayor invited applications for the study committee, which came to be called the “Unity Coalition,” and ultimately appointed 11 citizens, including Alderman Charles Coleman, who would be chairman.
I volunteered to help, mostly because this is an issue the city should resolve but also because it would take some of the heat off the new chief of staff. Handling two major controversial legislative initiatives at the same time, along with all other city business, can be overwhelming.
Over the next two months I did research, attended all four committee meetings, kept minutes and eventually prepared three proposed ordinances reflecting the recommendations of the committee.
Unity in the coalition was somewhat lacking. Former Alderman Garry Tate, the most vocal opponent of the Johnson resolution, complained to the council that the committee’s make-up included too many people who didn’t have an open mind on the subject. Then at the first coalition meeting Tate announced that he would oppose renaming any street. By the end even the proponents were split on two renaming proposals, each of which barely got a majority.
There was unity, though, on an idea proposed by Dr. Coleman and Chief of Staff Mike Downing for naming a portion of the city’s multi-purpose trail system in honor of Dr. King and developing an education component consisting of markers showing his most well-known quotations. Indeed, the final vote was unanimous.
I thought the idea of renaming Aggie Road west of Arkansas State University had possibilities, but the committee’s recommendation was for all of Aggie. Because of its history and the large number of people living on Aggie east of ASU, that was a non-starter.
The other proposal was to rename Commerce Drive. That has greater appeal for a number of reasons. First, the Arkansas Department of Transportation already has a project under design to extend Commerce from Interstate 555 to U.S. Highway 49 — an eastern arterial that will take considerable traffic off Red Wolf Boulevard. In five or 10 years it will be a major street connecting two important highways.
But it is not that now. Only part of it is named Commerce, which by the way has no historical significance, the main argument against other renaming proposals. Part of it is unnamed, and part is unbuilt. A significant portion is not in the city limits, but County Judge Marvin Day has said he would favor the King renaming.
Last week the three ordinances came up in the Public Works Committee. The trail proposal was quickly passed on to the full council without opposition. Whether all the downtown trail, considered the best place for the educational component, will be fully built in light of the sales tax defeat is doubtful.
The Aggie Road proposal was just as quickly rejected. As to Commerce, Alderman Vance moved to amend the proposed ordinance to direct the administration to seek a commemorative or memorial designation for the already named portion in the city. The remainder could be named or renamed for Dr. King whenever possible. No existing address would be changed.
That assignment was passed along to the city attorney, with the understanding that the amended ordinance would go on to the full council. The revision, as well as the trail ordinance, will be up for first reading Tuesday night.
The revised ordinance is a patchwork attempt to resolve a touchy issue. If the council is only willing to designate a designate a memorial highway, why not go with the original proposal for Johnson Avenue? It’s already a heavily traveled commercial street in a populous part of town. If ArDOT approves, signs would be posted in a few places designating the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Highway, but Johnson Avenue would keep its name, and no one’s address would be changed.
That could be done with a simple resolution in the same manner that a major part of Stadium Boulevard was changed to Red Wolf Boulevard in 2013. That was actually the second renaming of that street. In 1977, also at the request of ASU officials, the street was renamed by ordinance from Young Road to Stadium Boulevard by a unanimous vote.
None of the present aldermen were involved in the latter, but many voted on the 2013 resolution, which passed 8-4. Present council members who voted yes were Vance, Coleman, Ann Williams, Chris Moore and Chris Gibson. Present members who voted no were Charles Frierson, John Street and Mitch Johnson.
Those two actions created a precedent that cannot be ignored, and even those who voted no understand that city government must be consistent in its application and administration of the law. It’s time to resolve this issue.
Roy Ockert was editor of The Jonesboro Sun from 2001-12. He can be reached at royo@suddenlink.net.