1984 年 1 月 15 日,数百人庆祝西雅图新马丁路德金路的最后更名标志布置完毕

See Additional Media

1984 年 1 月 15 日,数百人边唱歌边诵经,步行从西雅图的锡安山浸信会 (Mount Zion Baptist Church) 来到东彻丽街 (E Cherry Street) 和马丁路德金路 (Martin Luther King Jr. Way) 的交叉路口。对于众多的民众来说,这次周年庆典不仅庆祝马丁•路德•金先生 (1929-1968) 取得的重要成就,而且标志着以被刺身亡的民权领导人姓名重新命名恩派尔路 (Empire Way) 的长期法律纠纷终结。1981 年,重新命名西雅图东南部的一条主干道这一简单的想法一经提出,就引发了全市人民激烈的讨论。尽管该提议得到了市政委员会和市长的一致同意,并于 1982 年颁布了更改账单、地图、表单、市场宣传材料以及路标等的法令,但是由于干道旁 36 个商家的反对而引发法律案件,该法令被搁置了近两年。商户们表示担心因更名而产生的代价,并认为这是在挑战城市在没有进行公投的情况下通过法例的能力。 1983 年 12 月,商户们最终在华盛顿州最高法院的这宗案件中败诉,但是他们决定不再上诉。该市快速组织生产了 500 个街道路标,并于 1 月 15 日的最后期限之前成功地安装完毕。


Sources:

“Martin Luther King Way? A City Hearing,” Seattle Post-Intelligencer, April 20, 1982, p. D-7; “The Empire Way Strikes Back at that New Name:” Ibid., July 28, 1982, p. C-1; “Royer Signs -- and Now It’s ‘King Way,’” Ibid., July 30, 1982, p. A-1; “Merchants Lose Street Name Delay,” Ibid., August 19, 1982, p. C-2; “Empire Way Change of Name Is OK, Judge Says,” Ibid., September 28, 1982, p. C-1; “15 Turn Out for King Way Picketing,” Ibid., August 22, 1982, p. C-15; “The Merchants Decide to Let King Have His Way,” Ibid., January 27, 1984, p. A-12; Lee Moriwaki, “Council Votes to Rename Empire Way for Martin Luther King Jr,” The Seattle Times, July 20, 1982, p. B-1; Charles Moore and Susan Gilmore, “Compromise on Renaming Empire Way,” Ibid., April 30,1981, p. C-1; “Blacks to Seek Full Street to Honor King,” Ibid., April 30, 1981, p. E-8; Lee Moriwaki, “Empire Way Name Change Drawing Flood of Opposition” Ibid., July 27, 1982, p. A-1; Lee Moriwaki, “Royer Approves New Name for Empire Way Despite Protests (signed 7-29-82),” Ibid., July 30, 1982, p. A-1; Herb Robinson, “A Distasteful Dispute,” Ibid., July 28, 1982, p. 7; Lee Moriwaki, “It’s Now Martin Luther King Jr. Way,” Ibid., July 30,1982, p. A-1; “Mrs. King Invited to Renaming,” Ibid., August 5, 1982, p. B-3; Lee Moriwaki, “Suit Filed to Block Renaming Street for Martin Luther King,” Ibid., August 10, 1982, p. E-1; Lee Moriwaki, “Fliers Urge Boycott of Empire Way Name-changing Foes” Ibid., August 19, 1982, p. B-1; “Street-Name Issue far from Settled” Ibid., September 22, 1982, p. A-1; Lee Moriwaki, “Empire Way Group Files Appeal” Ibid., November 18, 1982, p. A-30; Susan Gilmore, “Street Name: Get on with Change to King Way, says William,” Ibid., April 14,1983, p. A-4; “Why City Is Stalling on Renaming Street,” Ibid., October 20, 1983, p. A-3; William Gough, “Last Sign: King’s Name and Dream Are Stamped on City,” Ibid., January 15, 1984, p. A-4; Florangela Davila, “MLK Way,” The Seattle Times, August 25, 2010 (http://seattletimes.nwsource.com).


Licensing: This essay is licensed under a Creative Commons license that encourages reproduction with attribution. Credit should be given to both HistoryLink.org and to the author, and sources must be included with any reproduction. Click the icon for more info. Please note that this Creative Commons license applies to text only, and not to images. For more information regarding individual photos or images, please contact the source noted in the image credit.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License
Major Support for HistoryLink.org Provided By: The State of Washington | Patsy Bullitt Collins | Paul G. Allen Family Foundation | Museum Of History & Industry | 4Culture (King County Lodging Tax Revenue) | City of Seattle | City of Bellevue | City of Tacoma | King County | The Peach Foundation | Microsoft Corporation, Other Public and Private Sponsors and Visitors Like You