Lynchburg residents seeking greater acknowledgement of local activists and civil rights leaders will have a voice at an upcoming public hearing, slated to discuss the often divisive issue of formally renaming 5th Street and to consider other options to promote equity in the city.
Lynchburg City Council revived the decades-old conversation at its Tuesday meeting, reviewing the official street renaming process and discussing the potential to formally rename 5th Street to âMartin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard,â removing the name â5th Streetâ altogether.
Council unanimously agreed to hold the public hearing, but a date has not yet been set.
The conversation first arose in 1989 and again in 2005, when a compromise was reached to create an âoverlayâ along 5th Street and portions of Memorial Avenue, giving the honorary designation of âMartin Luther King, Jr. Boulevardâ to the corridor.