Part of a street in this York County town will be named to honor Dr. Martin Luther King

A decision by the S.C. Legislature will create a new Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in York County.

A county subcommittee heard a request Monday to spend $500 in allocated state gas tax money for new memorial signs to go up along Pinckney Street in the city of York. Signs will honor the memory of King at the S.C. 49 and South Congress Street, and U.S. 321 intersections of Pinckney.

State Sen. Mike Fanning introduced a resolution this spring to designate Pinckney Street as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Fanning said Monday afternoon the designation won’t officially change the road name. No residents will, for instance, have to alter their addresses.

“The road will stay the same name, but the designation of that portion as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard will also occur,” Fanning said.

Fanning said it’s fitting, as York is an area with a proud history of celebrating King’s life. Fanning noted the longest-running Martin Luther King, Jr. Day parade in the state happens in York. In January, organizers put on the 42nd annual event. The Pinckney Street designation is another way to honor the civil rights leader’s work, but shouldn’t be as disruptive as an official name change.

“This just signifies a portion of a road — again the road name is not changing — will be designated and there’ll be a marker to that affect,” Fanning said.

There is precedent in York County. More than a decade ago, a mile of Constitution Boulevard in Rock Hill became “Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Boulevard.” That designation in the largely Black Boyd Hill neighborhood happened along what is still called Constitution.

Rock Hill street named for MLK: But change only symbolic

As with that decision in Rock Hill, when the city wasn’t involved, the new designation comes from the state and not the City of York. Dalton Pierce, who took over as city manager earlier this year, said Monday the road designation hadn’t come up within the city.

“The city has not had any involvement with this item,” Pierce said.

Also like the Rock Hill decision years ago, the signs in York will go in a part of the city with a higher percentage of Black residents than most nearby areas.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Black residents make up a little more than 18% of the overall York County population. The census tract that includes Pinckney Street is west of S.C. 49, Congress Street and U.S. 321, from just south of Sharon Road to just north of Alexander Love Highway. Black residents account for more than 45% of that census tract’s population. Another 5% there are listed as two or more races, according to Census figures.

Pinckney is a common road name across South Carolina. According to a South Carolina Department of Transportation search, 25 of 46 counties statewide have at least one road that includes Pinckney. Many have multiple, up to almost a dozen variations in some counties.

Not far from Pinckney Street in York is Old Pinckney Road. Chester County has hundreds of addresses off either Pinckney Road or Pinckney Street. Lancaster County doesn’t have a Pinckney.

The most famous Pinckney in state history is founding father, statesman and three-term governor Charles Pinckney. Pinckney also owned a plantation with slaves. In recent years there have been public calls locally and across South Carolina to disassociate some historical names and markers with ties either to slavery or the Confederacy.

One of the louder calls came three years ago during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the death of George Floyd and other incidents sparked nationwide protests related to racial equality. Protesters gathered at Confederate Park in Fort Mill to demand its name be changed, and for road name changes in town. Charlotte set up a Legacy Commission in 2020 that eventually renamed nine streets there, including the change of prominent Stonewall Street uptown to Brooklyn Village Avenue.

The most 2020 protest yet just happened in Fort Mill. But what will the town do?

In South Carolina, decisions on names for roads, parks, monuments and other sites tied to historical figures are left to the state legislature. The Heritage Act requires general assembly approval for name changes, even for public parks or other facilities owned by towns or counties.

The portion of Pinckney Street in York between the two intersections where new MLK signs will go is about three-tenths of a mile. The full length of Pinckney Street is about half a mile. It’s largely residential and dead ends on one side. Pinckney also has York One Academy, Parenting Partnerships and the Family Resource Center among York School District property. There’s also Jefferson Field that adds park space.