Whalley Avenue postman Mitchell Daniels is ready to deliver letters with civil rights hero Martin Luther King’s name on them.
He’ll get the chance, if Yusuf Shah has his way.
Shah, a West River alderman, is preparing to introduce a bill to rename New Haven busiest commercial strip from “Whalley Avenue” to “Whalley Avenue/ Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.”
He wants to keep the familiar Whalley name. (Edward Whalley was one of the three regicides who signed King Charles I’s death warrant in 1649, then later fled here to hide.)
Proposal to rename streets sometimes run into opposition from other government bodies, on practical grounds. In this case the aldermen might receive a recommendation — possibly from the public works department, or City Plan Commission, or U.S. Postal Service — that they not rename the entire avenue, but rather add the MLK title to part of it as an honorary designation. That’s because Whalley is a state road, therefore requiring state approval for official name changes. The city has bypassed that problem by designating some parts of streets a special “corner” or “way” (like “Bishop Tutu Corner,” “Elsie Cofield Way,” “Evelyn Schatz Way”).
Cities across the country renamed main drags in King’s name following his assassination in 1968. New Haven never did. Shah said it’s time.
He first had the idea five years ago. He decided the proposal would cause too much controversy. Barack Obama’s election transformed the political climate, said Shah (pictured).
“It’s a new day. People are looking a little bit more favorably toward change,” he said. “We need a consistent reminder of the legacy and what potential all of those words [spoken by King] have.” (Watch some of those words being spoken here.)
Postal deliverer Daniels (in top photo) agreed with Shah. He was making his rounds on Whalley Wednesday when he was told about the idea. He instantly embraced it.
“I feel it gives some significance to the” avenue, said Daniels, who in his spare time volunteer-teachers karate and Red Cross life-saving classes. (He’s also a nephew of former Mayor John Daniels.) “It honors what Martin Luther King stood for — for all humanity.”
He also said the name addition would make Whalley “easier to find.”
Papa John’s manager Steve Coltu (pictured) said he’s fine with sending his pies from an MLK-named address.
“Cars still going to be on it. So why not?” he said during a smoke break Wednesday. “The name’s all right.”
Richard Bernard, who recently opened Elaine’s Healthy Choice Jamaican-accented vegan restaurant on Whalley, was downright enthusiastic. “It would give more meaning,” he said as he served an order to go of faux chicken nuggets in barbecue sauce. “More people would want to come and be associated with it and do business here.”
Some 120 businesses operate on Whalley just between Howe Street and Pendleton, according to Sheila Masterson. She said Shah’s proposal “makes sense” as long as it continues to preserve the Whalley name, too.
Shah said he anticipates questions about why Whalley should receive the honor rather than Dixwell Avenue, historically the main thoroughfare of black New Haven.
Urban renewal decimated many of Dixwell’s small businesses in the 1960s. Dixwell Plaza, the one main shopping center, has struggled to keep going at times, although some businesses there, as well as the Stetson Library, are busy.
Whalley, meanwhile, swarms with African-American-run small businesses. Running from downtown to Woodbridge, it straddles the borders of the Dixwell, Dwight, Edgewood, Beaver Hill, Westville, and West Hills neighborhoods.
“Whalley’s the hub of commerce for African-Americans. That’s the main strip,” Shah said. “Dixwell Avenue was at one time. It’s not now. We have to be real about what’s happening in our community.”
He said aldermanic staff is in the process of finalizing his bill, which he’ll introduce soon.
...or how about standing up for the peaceful principles that MLK espoused and prosecute the pack of teens who beat up an African American driver in Newhallville <a href="http://newhavenindependent.org/archives/2008/07/post_375.php" rel="nofollow">last summer</a>?
Maybe its just easier to rename streets and propose <a href="http://www.newhavenindependent.org/archives/2008/12/whos_a_victim.php" rel="nofollow">monuments</a>?
P.S. Last time I checked, Whalley Ave didn't run through Alderman Shah's <a href="http://www.cityofnewhaven.com/aldermen/WardMap_23.pdf" rel="nofollow">ward</a>.