LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A northeastern Arkansas city is grappling with how to name a street in honor of Martin Luther King Jr.
The Jonesboro city council formed a committee in June to address the issue after some council members opposed renaming Johnson Avenue after the civil rights leader.
The Arkansas-Democrat Gazette reports that tensions arose at the panel’s second meeting last week when some members said they wanted to preserve the city’s history by not changing existing street names.
City Council Member Charles Coleman says the issue has created a “standoff” throughout the city.
Opponents of the change say a new street can be named after King. Emma Agnew, president of the Craighead County chapter of the NAACP, says the city isn’t building new streets nor does it want to rename new ones.
