Opinion: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street

Challenged to honor the memory of Martin Luther King Jr. by renaming Ninth Street after the slain civil-rights leader, the St. Petersburg City Council took the half-way course in 1987. After heated arguments on both sides of the issue, the council used both designations for the street, and to make sure no one was pleased, it shortened the name to ML King on street signs. (The city added the title Dr. in 1992.)

It is now 2003, and some in the community think it is time to complete the name change and make it permanent. Sevell Brown, director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference's St. Petersburg branch, will ask the council Thursday to drop the Ninth Street designation and to use the full name -- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. -- on street signs.

While the road to better race relations in St. Petersburg has been rocky, much has changed for the better in 16 years. It is gratifying to see that the issue does not stir up the animosity that it once did.

The course should be clear for city officials. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street should become the official name. The change would honor a great American and should be made in the spirit of inclusion and progress. Whatever practical objections were made in the past, such as confusion over street addresses, are no longer valid. St. Petersburg residents have lived with the dual-named street for many years without difficulty.

Renaming the street will not solve all of the problems that still divide residents because of race, but it is one more positive step along the way.

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