Street signs to change to MLK soon
DENHAM SPRINGS — Street signs changing the name of Rodeo Drive to Martin Luther King Jr. Drive should start going up next month.
The street has been named Rodeo Drive since the days when it was home to cattle pens and rodeos, city officials said.
After the City Council voted 4-1 Monday night to rename the street, Mayor Jimmy Durbin said Tuesday he would meet with a sign company to see how to fit the new, longer name on city street signs.
Only black residents, several of whom opposed the name change, spoke during a public hearing the council held before taking up the proposal.
The change applies to the original stretch of Rodeo Drive between South Range and Pete’s Highway, officials said.
One of the opponents, David Ramsey, suggested the city choose to place the slain civil rights leader’s name on a street not in such a high-crime area.
When Durbin asked for a show of hands, a majority of the people in the audience indicated they favored changing the Rodeo Drive’s name.
Lawrence Jordan said he thinks the name change might help the community and the people who use the street.
“When people see the name and what Dr. King stood for, they will change,” Jordan said.
“We are trying to make a difference in our community,” said Sarah Scott, who added that her church is situated on Rodeo Drive. “We are trying to be a light to our community.”
Arthur Perkins, the lone black member of the council, voiced his hope that people would see the new name of the street and say that it’s a chance for them to cure themselves and go in the right direction.
He said residents of the street were polled and strongly indicated they wanted the name change.
Perkins recalled his boyhood days when rodeos were held on property adjacent to the street.
Lori Lamm-Williams, who cast the lone vote against the name change, said she liked the historical name of Rodeo Drive, since it was once a place where people coming into Denham Springs penned their animals.
She said she would like to see a memorial sign placed alongside Rodeo Drive in honor of King, rather than change the name of the street.
Lamm-Williams said that changing the name means that after six months, people might not get a check or other important piece of mail if the sender does not know Rodeo Drive has become Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.
Durbin said Tuesday that residents need to notify people and businesses with whom they correspond about the name change.
He said the name change will be given to the Post Office next week after publication of the ordinance.
About 30 homes, most occupied by black residents, face that stretch of Rodeo Drive which is being renamed Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.
Another segment of the street located to the east of Pete’s Highway, in a majority- white area, will keep the name of Rodeo Drive, Durbin said.
Council members Chris Davis, Annie Fugler and John Wascom joined Perkins in voting for the name change.