DETROIT – City council members are considering renaming Downtown Detroit’s iconic Hart Plaza, but locals seem unsure of the change.
Detroit City Council member Mary Waters on Tuesday, July 25, proposed renaming the Philip A. Hart Plaza to the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Plaza. The resolution seeks to honor MLK, who helped lead the U.S. Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and ‘60s, and says the name change would be in line with Detroit’s values.
Detroit is the city where MLK first delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. A bronze statue of him was unveiled at Hart Plaza in June.
While many community members told Local 4 they’d be open to the change, or they’d support honoring MLK, many others said they think the name should remain the same. The 14-acre riverfront destination has been known as Hart Plaza since 1975.
Some of the most visible opposition to the name change has come from members of National Action Network Michigan, who believe the plaza is already appropriately named.
“Detroit needs to know why it’s named Philip. A Hart Plaza,” said Sam Riddle, political director of Michigan’s National Action Network. “It was Philip A. Hart, United States senator, [who] shepherded the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Without Philip Hart, there are no voting rights.”
The late Hart served as a U.S. Senator from Michigan from 1959-1976, and formerly served as the state’s lieutenant governor. He was a Democratic politician known for supporting the Civil Rights Movement, racial integration, and immigration.
“Phil Hart stood with Black America when no one else would during the early days of the Civil Rights Movement,” Riddle said.
Much like Detroit’s venue formerly known as Cobo Hall, some people told Local 4 that if the plaza is ever renamed, they’ll forever refer to it as Hart Plaza.
The resolution introduced Tuesday was referred to the Neighborhood and Community Services Committee for review, and could be up for discussion when the city council returns from recess. In the resolution, Waters also suggests the plaza be deemed a violence-free zone.
Do you support the name change? Let us know in the comments below.
See what some people had to say about the change in the video report below.
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