Colman Street does double duty as U.S. Route 1, and under a proposal by Rep. Ernest Hewett the street would also honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
The statement of purpose in the bill is to “honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by renaming Colman Street in New London as ‘Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.’” Hewett said the boulevard title would be honorary, meaning the Colman Street name would remain.
“It’s a little more difficult to actually rename it,” said Hewett.
Hewett said that under the proposal, a sign honoring the civil rights leader would be put up somewhere along Colman Street. He said he would request permission for the honorary renaming from The Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, which was established by King's family after his death, and would invite a member of King’s family to attend the dedication ceremony.
Let Patch save you time. Get great local stories like this delivered right to your inbox or smartphone every day with our free newsletter. Simple, fast sign-up here.
Hewett said the honorary name could be put in place by the Connecticut General Assembly since Colman Street is also used as a state road. He said he was inspired by other efforts to name streets after King in Connecticut, including the 2011 renaming of North Frontage Street in New Haven as the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
“There couldn’t be a better person to honor than Dr. Martin Luther King,” said Hewett.
Hewett said he considered requesting a formal name change for Colman Street, but did not think the businesses along the street would support it. Several businesses along Colman Street said a more permanent name change could have a negative effect on business since it would be more difficult for customers to find the address and businesses would incur costs by having to alter promotional materials and other items.
“Change is not always good,” said Anita Goldstein Miller, owner of Goldy’s Restaurant. “People have always known it as Colman Street.”
“Purely businesswise, it would not assist me,” said Noah Levine, owner of Rapid Car Wash, when asked if he would support a formal name change. “People know where Colman Street is and it would take them years to make that transition.”
Miller and Levine said they considered an honorary renaming that would retain the Colman Street name a more reasonable idea.
Mayor Daryl Finizio said the final decision on Hewett’s proposal will be up to the legislature due to Colman Street’s status as a state road.
“It is very fitting that Rep. Hewett is seeking a way to honor the memory and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,” he said.
Hewett’s bill is currently before the legislature's Transportation Committee. Hewett said discussion on the proposal will include the logistics of where the sign might be placed and whether the funds for its installation would come from the King Center or another source.
Great man aside, locally we are just a bit short on funds for fluff.
Foot in mouth, much, Mr. Mayor? While I have nothing against the civil rights movement, why waste taxpayer money on this 'honorary renaming' in an already broke state?
That very ugly vacant lot at the corner of Bank and Jefferson, now made even uglier with a line of boulders placed there that would cause great damage and injury should a vehilcle run into them, would seem the perfect spot for a statute or memorial to the Rev. Dr. King. Colman Street is a commercial strip of very dubious aesthetic value that is mostly known as "The Car Corner" or the fast-food strip in our city. Rep.Hewitt's political career began on Colman Street, where he resides, when he took on, in a way that the Rev. Dr. King likely would have applauded, the ownership of the motel at Colman and Bank for operations that encouraged drug dealing, prostitution, and other criminal and socially dangerous activities. No one can take Rep. Hewitt to task for his intent with this initiative, but I suspect there will be many New Londonders who would vigorously argue that a better means of honoring the man whose dream is today an Oval Office manifestation of courageous social reforms engaged by unifying effort among Americans of all stripes and colors ought be given more thoughtful consideration than targeting a street that likely would not be the one the Rev. Dr. King would have led a march down had he graced our city with his august presence.
On October 10, 1963, U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy committed what is widely viewed as one of the most ignominious acts in modern American history: he authorized the Federal Bureau of Investigation to begin wiretapping the telephones of the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. Kennedy believed that one of King's closest advisers was a top-level member of the American Communist Party, and that King had repeatedly misled Administration officials about his ongoing close ties with the man. Kennedy acted reluctantly, and his order remained secret until May of 1968, just a few weeks after King's assassination and a few days before Kennedy's own. But the FBI onslaught against King that followed Kennedy's authorization remains notorious, and the stains on the reputations of everyone involved are indelible.
The crucial figure was Stanley David Levison, a white New York lawyer and businessman who first met Martin Luther King in 1956 In the months immediately following Levison's visible departure from CPUSA activities, his selfless assistance to King soon established him as the young minister's most influential white counselor. But when the FBI tardily learned of Levison's closeness to King in early 1962, the Bureau understandably hypothesized that someone with Levison's secret (though thoroughly documented) record of invaluable service to the CPUSA might very well not have turned up at Martin Luther King's elbow by happenstance. With the FBI suggesting that Levison's seeming departure from the CPUSA was in all likelihood a ruse, Robert Kennedy and his aides felt they had little choice but to assume the worst and act as defensively as possible. The Kennedy Administration kept itself at arm's length from King, and events quickly spiraled, with the federal government undertaking extensive electronic surveillance of King himself.