If you travel through Harlem and observe the street signs, you will notice a number with dual names - an older and more familiar on top and a newer below. The city renames streets for a variety of reasons. Subsequent to 9/11, many streets were renamed to honor those firefighters and police officers who lost their lives in service to the city during that tragedy.
Other streets are renamed for groups or individuals that are honored for their lifetime accomplishments. This can be most readily seen in Harlem, where many major thoroughfares have been renamed to honor prominent black Americans. These names include major black activists and entertainers. On my recent excursion to the neighborhood, I caught some of the heavyweights and photographed the signs.
On December 29, 2008, Mayor Bloomberg signed legislations renaming 49 streets and public places in the five boroughs. Some of the prominent blacks include James Brown, Drs. Kenneth and Mamie Phipps Clark, Zora Neale Hurston, Samuel J. Battle, Ella Baker, Charles Hamilton Houston, Billie Holiday, Paul Robeson, Count Basie, A. Philip Randolph, Susan Smith McKinney-Steward, Shirley Chisholm, and Marcus Garvey.
There is one glaring omission in today's photo collage. While traveling down 125th Street, Harlem's main crosstown street, I was distracted while observing all the people, places, and things, and neglected to look up and photograph a street sign conamed with a man virtually synonymous with African-American civil rights. Martin Luther King, Jr.
8 comments:
Everybody remembers MLK for his brave fight for civil rights, but few ever remember his opposition to the Vietnam war. And the fact that during a 1999 civil trial, "King Family versus Jowers and Other Unknown Co-Conspirators" - in the words of the lawyer representing the MLK family, William F. Pepper - "...Seventy witnesses set out the details of a conspiracy in a plot to murder King that involved J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI, Richard Helms and the CIA, the military, the local Memphis police, and organized crime figures from New Orleans and Memphis. The evidence is unimpeachable. The jury took an hour to find for the King family. But the silence following these shocking revelations was deafening. Like the pattern during all the investigations of the assassination throughout the years, no major media outlet would cover the story. It was effectively buried...”
Google it up for more info including videos of the trial. One resource is http://is.gd/7HVp5
Very nice photos.
great images....i like the way you framed the view
I totally agree with Anonymous. MLK's murder was definitely a gov't inside job. Disgusting, but typical, that no major media ever covered it, and those responsible are never brought to justice. Any really powerful black man is always assassinated; MLK, Fred Hampton, Malcolm X for example.
On another note, great collage, and I'd like to see some informative entries about the history behind these names...this is just too much of a tease!
Doesn't get any better than that, does it? Nice photos.
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Happy travels!
So, which of these would you plug into your GPS to find your way?
Fun picture!
A very unique tribute.
Bravo!
Jim
Thanks so much for posting this. When we drove down to NYC from Montreal, we approached Manhattan via 5th. Avenue. Passing through Harlem and seeing these street signs with those names was a thrill. I would love to have been able to go back and roam the area with my camera. I envy those who have the opportunity to do so.
Beverly
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