Don't Back Down

Here in Charlotte, the holiday is only cause for a furor over the fact that we don't have a street named after the late civil rights leader. Councilman James Mitchell, who most times looks like he has just been woken from a deep sleep, is apparently losing said sleep over this fact. The reason being that Charlotte, the backward metropolis that we are, is not one of 730-odd other locations throughout the country that have some form of street named for MLK.

I'm all for recognizing important stuff. I mean we have a statue of Sam Mills outside the stadium and all, that should count for something, right? Apparently not. According to at least one article, it's important not only to have a street named for King, but to have it be a major thoroughfare. In their exact words, it's hard to ignore that symbol. What?

I'd like to get a quick count - how many people recognize the street name when they're driving? That's at least half of you out already. Okay, out of those who know what street you are on, how many of you reflect on the reason for the name of that street, while driving or at any other time? That's what I thought.

One of the largest streets in Charlotte is Independence Boulevard. You know how many times I've thought about the fact that we made the effort to name a street to celebrate our independence? Zero. But let's get closer to the point - that's a bit nebulous, maybe the concept doesn't work as well.

We have another high-traffic street in Albemarle (I think it is Albemarle Road, but could be mistaken). How many times have I thought of that one? Zero. I have to think about what to think about even. In reality, it's likely named that way because it goes to Albemarle. Fancy that. Those of you familiar with Charlotte undoubtedly have seen a Sharon of one type or another, and the reason behind those? They go to a church named Sharon.

Not havng much luck here. We have one road that goes from Tyvola to Fairview to Sardis to Rama to Idlewild in the space of a few miles. Really. I think that Sardis was also named for being a road to a church named Sardis, but I might be mistaken. The others? No clue, though one of our dogs is named "Ray" because we found him on Rama (pronounced Ray-ma, not Rah-ma). So maybe that is a symbol.

I have it - we have a stretch named the Billy Graham Parkway. Yes, I'm serious. How many times on that road have I dwelt on the fact that it was named after the famed evangelist? Let me think. Zero. I don't even know that it was, but it seems a likely conclusion.

So what I'd really like to know is how many of you actually pause to reflect on the name of a street, building (think naming rights) or anything else named for anyone or anything as being important in any way as to what the world at large should think of the entity doing the naming? Charlotte has wanted to be world-class for some time. Is there some secret underworld out there that won't visit cities unless they have an MLK Boulevard?