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Residents urge Tracy to name a street or park after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Summary
Multiple public commenters asked the council to permanently honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by naming a street, park, or facility, and urged the city to form a committee or make a resolution; staff and residents noted an upcoming Parks commission meeting that will consider a renaming request.
Several residents used the items-from-the-audience portion of the meeting to urge the Tracy City Council to permanently honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with the name of a street, park or public facility.
Olinga Alexander said after three decades of holding an annual Martin Luther King Jr. breakfast the city still lacks a permanent, visible memorial and asked whether the city would wait another 30 years before inscribing Dr. King’s name on public infrastructure. “Doctor Martin Luther King’s contributions to justice, equality and civil rights deserve a permanent and visible recognition in our community,” Alexander said.
Ameni Alexander asked the council to form a resolution or a committee to investigate candidate streets or facilities and described prior efforts to submit naming suggestions that received no follow-up from city staff. Gwendolyn Stewart also asked the council to “do something different” and select a prominent, pride-worthy site rather than an area that is “downtrodden.”
A community member announced the Parks and Community Services Commission will meet Thursday, Feb. 5 at 7 p.m. to review renaming of a sports complex by 11th Street, giving the public and commissioners a formal venue to consider naming proposals.
No council resolution or formal action to rename city property was taken at the meeting; staff directed the public to the upcoming commission meeting for further consideration.
What’s next: the renaming discussion will proceed to the Parks and Community Services Commission meeting where staff and commissioners will review proposals and public input.
