Why Franklin Street and Grandville Avenue Were Renamed

Walking around Grand Rapids, you'll quickly notice that the city has made a real effort over the years to honor the past and the people who helped build the city into what it is. From the Rad Women A-Z Initiative to the over 100 murals adorning the various neighborhoods of GR. Another form of memorialization has come in the form of street names.

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In recent years, several prominent streets like Monroe Center have been renamed or received a commemorative name in honor of civil rights leaders or other important figures. While Monroe Center received a commemorative street sign for Breonna Taylor, two of GR's streets were fully renamed after Martin Luther King Jr. and César E. Chávez. Here's why.

The resolutions for these streets to be renamed happened in 2022; however, the journey to get Grandville Avenue and Franklin Street renamed to César E. Chávez Avenue and Martin Luther King Jr. Street, respectively, was one of many years.

READ MORE: The Trailblazers Of Grand Rapids: Women Who Made History |

Efforts to get these civil rights leaders some recognition started before 2000 when Robert Womack, co-creator of the Moving Ahead for Remarkable Civil Rights Heroes Committee(MARCH, more on them later), petitioned to rename the streets. In an interview with FOX 17, he did this because

When the city of Grand Rapids was drafted, the streets were named after rich white property owners, and nothing was named after the minority stakeholders in this community.

His efforts resulted in Chávez being given a commemorative (blue signs) attached to Grandville Avenue from Franklin Street to Wealthy Street as "Cesar Chavez Way", and MLK Jr. being given a commemorative street sign as "Martin L King Jr Way" on Division Avenue from 28th Street to Coldbrook Street.

While the commemorative signs were a progress, MARCH wanted a permanent symbol of minorities' impact on the city. So, since 2004, MARCH has petitioned to have more than a commemorative sign.

Their hard work paid off in 2021 when the Grand Rapids City Commission (GRCC) approved Franklin St. becoming MLK Jr St, with Franklin becoming a blue commemorative sign, and Grandville Ave. becoming César E. Chávez Avenue.

Criteria

The GRCC, by law, has three criteria to approve a new street/commemorative street:

• The proposed commemorative name or designation shall either be informational in nature or of memorial or historical significance.
• If the proposed name is that of a person, it must be of a deceased person who has made a recognized contribution to the community or to a portion of the community where the memorial way is to be designated
• The proposed name shall not be so similar to an official street name as to be confusing to the public.