Judged solely on the way we name our streets, we are a hopelessly dull country.
The top-10 list of the most common street names in the land is numerically choked, with “Second,” “Third,” “First,” “Fourth” etc., sharing space with “Park,” “Main” and “Oak.”
In Illinois, “Lincoln,” unsurprisingly, tops the list and there are nationwide, of course, a great many streets named in honor of that president. Only “Washington” rivals him.
Of more recent vintage, there’s something in the neighborhood of 1,000 streets named in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., here and in foreign countries.
King was assassinated on April 4, 1968 in Memphis, as many might remember. He was born on Jan. 15, 1929, in Atlanta. That would have made him 90 years old last Tuesday, but the official celebration of his birth takes place Monday. Many of us get that day off; the better, I suppose, to participate in mattress sales and other commercial gimmicks in “honor” of King. There are even some meaningful events scheduled. Might I suggest what might be an enlightening do-it-yourself activity: walk or drive along our own Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive , which stretches through the city from 22nd St. south to 115th St.
A young filmmaker named Earl Hardy has walked that street and many other MLK byways across the country. Born and raised in Detroit and now living in California, he says, “We all learned in school about the contributions of Dr. King. But once I got old enough to explore the ways in which we as a nation were honoring him, mostly with street names, I realized the perplexing phenomena that so many MLK streets in the U.S. are located in blighted neighborhoods.
“Dr. King stood for diversity, inclusion and prosperity. But for many reasons, a lot of the streets that bear his name don’t reflect this. They are not honoring his legacy. This situation is happening across the country in urban and rural cities alike. The situation on these streets is a good depiction of our society in general.”
Hardy is in the process of raising the funds to make a film about this. “Its theme is that God has not forsaken the less fortunate,” he says. “He has created men and women with the skills needed to make positive change.”
Toward this end, Hardy and some friends, which include Chicago attorney-author Michael Wilder as a producer, are currently trying to raise the $5,000 they anticipate they need via the Seed and Spark platform to begin filming in February and March. They want to make a 12-15 minute long film that can act as a calling card for those who might fund a feature film.
“I have known Earl since high school and into Michigan State University,” says Wilder. “We always kept in touch after college and I recall having brunch with Earl during one of his visits to Chicago some years ago and he was so excited talking about writing a script about MLK Boulevard, which he described it as light-hearted yet thought-provoking.
“I was intrigued and after reading his script and immediately wanted to be part of this journey. I see Earl as the next Jordan “Get Out” Peele. He is smart, insightful, funny, and loves writing and directing. He’s the entire package.”
They are certainly not the first to be drawn to this complicated subject.
Jonathan Tilove, the chief political writer for the Austin American-Statesman newspaper, visited more than 600 MLK streets across the country in the company of photographer Michael Falco for their 2003 book, “Along Martin Luther King: Travels on Black America’s Main Street.” In the book, he writes, “Map [the streets] and you map a nation within a nation, a place where white America seldom goes and black America can be itself. It is a parallel universe with a different center of gravity and distinctive sensibilities, kinship at two or three degrees of separation, not six. There is no other street like it.”
He also writes, “For many whites, a street sign that says Martin Luther King tells them they are lost. For many blacks, a street sign that says Martin Luther King tells them they are found.”
Derek Alderman, a professor of cultural and historical geography at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, studies race, history and MLK streets. He writes on his website, mlkstreet.com, “the King street naming phenomena … is an important indicator of local political tensions as well as broader debates about race, memory, and place in America.”
Alderman is to be one of the people featured in Hardy’s film. There will be other experts but also actors and musicians. “This is not going to be some sort of dry academic look at the topic,” Hardy says. “It is a look at the reasons how these streets came to be, why many of them are struggling and what can be done to revive them. It will be far from heavy handed but filled with stories and even comedy.”
Indeed, one of the inspirations for the film is an old routine from comic Chris Rock. In a performance clip on YouTube, Rock says, in part, “If you’re on Martin Luther King Boulevard, there’s some violence going down.”
Chicago plays a prominent role in any website, book or discussion of MLK streets and it will in Hardy’s film. This is because we were the first municipality to name a street in King’s honor. Against a backdrop of political hanky-panky, fearfulness and heated debate, South Park Way became Martin Luther King Jr. Drive on Aug. 8, 1968.
“I will tell you that a few MLK streets are in good shape, meaning that they have diverse populations and thriving businesses,” says Hardy, who goes on to name such MLK street-friendly places as Albuquerque N.M., Austin, Tex., and New Bern in North Carolina.
But he was in Detroit visiting family for the holidays and took a walk.
“Our MLK street in Detroit is in serious need of a face lift,” says Hardy.
He hopes to complete his film by May. In the meantime, feel free to explore our MLK byway and let me know how that makes you feel, what that makes you think.
rkogan@chicagotribune.com
@rickkogan
https://modules.wearehearken.com/chicago-tribune/embed/618.js
