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Street Sign
Identifier:
2022.58.2Description:
This green street sign is from Franklin Street Southwest in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In February 2022, the City of Grand Rapids approved the renaming of Franklin Street to Martin Luther King Jr. Street, honoring the civil rights leader. The proposal to rename the street was propelled by MARCH (Moving Ahead for Remarkable Civil Right Heroes) in a joint effort to also change Grandville Avenue to César E. Chávez Avenue. This sign was taken down and replaced with a green "Martin Luther King Jr. St. SW" sign. A blue commemorative "Franklin St. SW" sign was hung underneath, indicating the historic street name.Date:
2022Materials:
MetalDimensions:
9" h 42" w .0625" dCurrent Location Status:
In StorageCollection Tier:
Tier 3Source:
Gift of City of Grand Rapids, MIRelated Entities:
City of Grand Rapids (donor) Martin Luther King Jr. (is related to)Martin Luther King Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia on January 15th, 1928 to Michael and Alberta King. He received a doctorate degree in theology from Brown University and in 1955 led the Montgomery Bus Boycott resulting in the prohibition of racial segregation on all public buses in Montgomery.
King advocated for nonviolent resistance to segregation in the south and led many peaceful protests. Although the protests were often met with violence, King persisted. In 1963, fellow activists Bayard Rustin and A. Philip Randolph led the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom where King delivered his famous "I Have a Dream" speech.
In 1964, the civil rights movement made history with the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. That same year, King became the youngest person at the time to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee on April 4th, 1968.
Alternate names: Moving Ahead for Remarkable Civil Right Heroes
