Kansas City marks Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard — a moment years in the making

Keon Ford, a three-year employee of the Kansas City Public Works department, pulled the covering off of the street sign to a round of applause and cheers.

“How about that,” Rev. Vernon Howard’s voice rang out. “How about that?”

The sign in question was years in the making.

Saturday morning, the city unveiled street signs officially marking Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard where it intersects with The Paseo. The boulevard — formerly Blue Parkway, Swope Parkway and Volker Boulevard — runs five miles along Brush Creek from Brookside Boulevard on the west to Interstate 435 on the east.

Ford’s supervisor, Carlon Hill, said he gets a tingling feeling, plus goosebumps, each time he does something he feels is positive. That morning, he said, he felt “fantastic.”

“This is another piece of feeling great about it,” Hill said, “just being part of something at the magnitude that it is, being positive and that’s something we try to spread around the whole inner city of Kansas City.”

The Board of Parks and Recreation Commissioners voted unanimously in April to memorialize the roadway in honor of the civil rights leader, ending Kansas City’s status as one of the few large cities without a street named after King.

Mayor Quinton Lucas, speaking at the event, said the change shows the investment in the community’s future.

“We are truly invested in this beautiful five mile thoroughfare and we will have one of the greatest boulevards in our park system when we are done not just putting up signs, but putting more money, putting more investment, putting more attention and putting more love into Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.”

In the last attempt to name a street after King, initiated in 2018, a group of ministers from the East Side came to previous members of the parks board about renaming The Paseo.

The ministers were rebuffed but the City Council overruled the board and voted in January 2019 to rename The Paseo. Signs were replaced. Residents pushed back, arguing that the Paseo name is significant to the city’s history, and campaigned to undo the change.

The Paseo, named for Paseo De La Reforma in Mexico City, was designed in the late 19th century by landscape architect George Kessler as part of the city’s original parks and boulevard system. A portion was added to the National Register of Historic Places, along with parks and boulevards in Midtown and the Historic Northeast.

By the end of the year, voters had decided to restore The Paseo and remove King’s name.

In the summer of 2020, the parks board met with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Greater Kansas City. The ensuing proposal led to a few sessions for public comment and hundreds of emails sent to the board.

Also worth noting: the board did not do away entirely with Volker Boulevard. Instead, it recommended naming Oak Street from 45th to 52nd streets to honor the late Kansas City philanthropist William Volker.

Board of Parks and Recreation commissioner Chris Goode said the change speaks to progress and perseverance.

“It’s not about anymore words, it’s not about anymore fluffy statements,” Goode said, holding his son in his arms. “It’s about action and tangible change, for us to actually realize these dreams and they can become my reality and also my son’s reality.”

The 37 street signs will all be changed over the weekend, said Public Works Director Michael Shaw, along with five LED signs.

Terry Rynard, director of the Parks and Recreation Department, said most of the investment at Martin Luther King Jr. Square Park, which runs along the boulevard, is privately funded. She that shows how much the community cares to not just honor King but to have the area look like it honors King.

“It’s a great day for those who have fought for years for a proper designation for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and for those who continue to fight the systemic racism that has plagued not just our city but our country,” Rynard said.

Kevin Woolfolk, director of membership engagement with the SCLC, which was founded by King, said: “This recognition of our founding on this boulevard is a testament of our commitment to civil rights, decreasing poverty, voting rights, law enforcement accountability, health care for all, a living wage, and all rights and privileges of the Constitution or principles of liberty, justice, and equality for all.”