Council Votes to Rename Washington Blvd.

[rondinjp]

Off topic question. How does City Council get anything done with all the praying that goes on during the session?

[Retroit]

[[sarcasm alert!)

**** THIS JUST IN ****

In the latest attempt by the Detroit Shitty Clown Show to unleash the city from the oppression of the white man, they have decided to change the name of the city. After all, every black person knows that the French were just a bunch of basic white people who conspired with the amerikkkans to create a white supremacist country. From now on Detroit will be known as Da Peeps Repubic of Monica.

[buildingsofdetroit]

At todays meeting a motion was approved to give Washington Blvd. a secondary name. It will be named John Conyers Blvd in honor of his upcoming birthday.

Sheila Cockrel voted against it as she is opposed to secondary street names. JoAnn Watson half seriously said that they should make it the primary name then. She mentioned that a group was looking into renaming Cass Tech, and that they should rename Washington Blvd. & Jefferson Ave as well since they were named after European slaveholders.

While talking about some celebration scheduled in the former Harmonie Park district, she demonstrated that she is still obsessed with calling "Paradise Valley" Africa Town. She noted that there is a Greektown, Mexican Town, Asian Town [[that's closed honey) etc, but they can't call it African Town b/c they would get sued.

Ahh, OK, it's for only one day. Phew!

[Prodigal_Son]

I think we should rename the Woodward bridge over 8-Mile the "Monica Conyers Bridge". Then we could tax everyone who enters the city on the bridge, to show how hospitable we are to visitors.

Onward, Christian Soldiers!

[Detroitej72]

Ahh, OK, it's for only one day. Phew!

Wow, glad to see the clowncil tackling important business. That sure helps the folks in the neighborhoods now doesn't it?

What a waste of time. Although, I suppose I'd rather see them doing this as oppose to f@#king up more things. Too bad they weren't doing this instead of messing up the Cobo deal.

[TWDPres]

obviously, keeping a street named after him, is an endorsement of him having slaves.

I wonder how many citizens this actually offends, my guess is about 2. Luckily they both happen to be on city council.

[wolverine]

Waste of time. The world is laughing at Detroit.

[Strathcona]

This is ridiculous... absolutely ridiculous.

[tetsua]

From the actions of the people in council, you'd swear that there is nothing that needs urgent attention in the city. I mean even by their standards, this was a big waste of time.

[dexterferry]

actually Oldertimer, slaves were a regular fixture in old Detroit, both captured Indians and imported blacks. Slaves were traded in Detroit and there were nearly 100 here until the practice started dying out at the end of the eighteenth century.

Congratutions to Monica's husband! He gets a street filled with nothing but abandoned towers, vacant storefronts and panhandling vagrants named after him! Huzzah!

[TKshreve]

What is wrong with the people leading the city?

Do they not come here to Dyes to see the disdain?

How can they actually sleep at night? With a nightlight I suppose...... but come on.

[Danny]

Rename Washington Bvld. to John Conyers Blvd! BAD IDEAL. That is what happens when black folks took over Detroit:

1. Gen. George Custer Elementary School was changed to Thurgood Marshall Elementary because Gen. Custer was racist.

2. Twelveth Street was renamed Rosa Parks.

3. Myrtle St. was renamed Martin Luther King Bvld.

4. Parts of Grand Blvd. was renamed Berry Gordy Blvd.

5. The city/county building was renamed The Coleman A. Young Municipal Building.

6. Parts of E. 7 Mile Rd. from Dequindre to Conant was renamed Bishop William Lucas Bonner Rd.

7. You have Mae C. Jemison Elementary.

8. Malcolm X Academy.

9 . Parts of Linwood St. to Elijah Muhammad Rd. and many more

Why not rename W.Vernor Rd. to Cesar Chavez Rd. or W. Warren to Imam Ali Hussien Rd.

What's next ? La Salle St. to Bernard Kilpatrick St.

When a different group of race takes over any major city, they have the power to shape and form and neighborhood structures they want. Right now Detroit is majority black city with majority black images all over its ghettohoods in order to inspire the black community, but most of the black community continues to ignore these black images as these images means nothing to them.

WORD FROM THE STREET PROPHET

The great symbol drain is upon us.

[blksoul_x]

Quick point Danny,[[I almost agree with some your sentiments)__ However, it's not as simple as Africans living in Detroit 'not caring' about our historical images and symbols__It's simply a matter of a people being consumed by survival tactics, and the agita of torture/ and disadvantages created by the very historical images and symbols that are illuminated across amerikkkas' red, white and blue shores. Those pseudo Black African historic images [[street names, buildings, status etc.) will never balance the brutal scale of 400 hundred years of amerikkkana' hegemony__go figure!

If EVER there is a time and place [[and there will be soon) when Black Africans in amerikkka' desire to give up the chase for amerikkkas' pea-soup, and become more concerned about our fragile subsistence, and true FREEDOM, then and only then will Black Africans in amerikkka' become more passionate about who and what we are to this world...to be sure, from that point on, the revolution WILL be televised!

black-atcha!
The BJL, the color you love to hate!

[East Detroit]

They should wait until Conyers is dead.

How do we know he will be great unless and until he:

a) Actually calls the war criminals before Congress

b) Actually tells us why he married such a dummy

[dexterferry]

Personally, I think Detroit's gay community should be quietly celebrating this decision. You know, on the down low.

[Fury13]

Personally, I think Detroit's gay community should be quietly celebrating this decision. You know, on the down low.

Good point!

[Fury13]

Why not sell naming rights to streets in the city? Then, for a fee, anyone could have a street named after themselves, a loved one, or someone he/she admires. It works in helping raise revenue for baseball stadiums... why not apply it to streets? Sell the rights for 10 years!

Charge $500,000 to get a freeway renamed; $100,000 to get a major arterial street renamed; $50,000 for a side street in a thriving neighborhood; $5,000 for a side street in a decaying area; $500 for a street in most heavily blighted areas; and $20 for a street in Brightmoor or Delray.

[digitalvision]

Few things:

1) The street honoring him should be in his district.

2) The stuff about "white power" and street names is horseshit to whip up supporters. I get why it's done - extreme views get noticed, even on this board, and moderate views do not.

3) We don't have any money. If a private foundation or person stepped up for these costs, fine, but I am opposed to the city doing anything extraneous at this time. That's a couple cops.

4) The news article does not mention co-naming, but says that Washington Boulevard will be renamed. Either sloppy reporting, typo, or that's the story. I'm against a total rename, as well. We're busy burying our past in this town, from Paradise Valley and the officials who lecture me on "Paradise Valley is the name" to this Washington Boulevard thing.

[firstandten]

The one thing we need to be consistant about this renaming is does the person deserve it.

For example under no circumstances should a school been named after Gen Custer. A person who graduated last in his class a reckless military man who caused the deaths of his people and himself. Why even when the area was white would they want to name a school after him? Let the folks in Monroe honor that loser.

To be fair I also don't think Bates Academy should retain its name given the example the ex-councilman set for the city and its children. It is a school of excellence, probably the best in DPS K-8 and that sends a bad message as well.

People have faults and that shouldn't necessary stop people from naming buildings,schools etc after them but there are situations were the naming is out of line and doesn't make sense.

[Ray1936]

On Custer's plus side, Firstandten, remember that his charge of the Michigan cavalry at Gettysburg was instrumental in the Union victory there. He wasn't a total loser.

[Angry Dad]

Why not build something instead of changing the name of something?

[313WX]

I guess they're going to get some money for renaming an historic boulevard.

Either that or the con is trying to get some lovin' from her husband [[I guess it's that time of month).

[jackie5275]

Waste of time. The world is laughing at Detroit.

Agreed this is a waste of time. However, I don't think the world is laughing at Detroit. I think the world is ignoring it.

[MIRepublic]

Help me out, here. Perhaps, it's because I've never give much of my attention to renamings, but I'm failing to see the great and offensive error in this others are seeing. I'm also not much seeing the relevance/soundness of the main argument being made against this: council has better things to do. Does someone mean to tell me that a city struggling mightly, or not, shouldn't be at liberty to take one vote out of one meeting out of their annual session for a renaming, and simply a symbolic one [[i.e. the street keeps it formal name/given a second name), at that?

I criticize this council for a lot. A legislative body is not anything without constructive criticism. In this case, though, I'm not sure the criticism is fair, and most of it most definitely isn't constructive by any stretch of the imagination.

Municipal councils the world around vote on a plethora of issues in their given session. Some are of the highest order of concern, most others, quite simply, aren't. Often times, they vote on the most pressing and the least important things at the same meeting. Hell, the city council of my struggling, Rust Belt city bestowed official recognition to a local high school band, Children's Mental Health Awareness Day, Worker's Memorial Day, and an elementary school's "go green" program all at our last council meeting. They also debated, considered, and set public hearings for far more pressing issues, that meeting.

Given the knowledge of how councils work, I can't say I'm the least offended, or that they wasted any time, when they took a vote out of one of their meetings to given Washington Boulevard a secondary name, at least not anymore time wasted than any other council 'wastes' on honoring respected people, organizations, events, etc. Is this too reasonable a view for the decided neo-cynical folks that populate forums and messageboards?

The council took a few minutes out of their time to honor the second-longest serving Congressman in the nation by giving a short, downtown avenue a second name. Good god, someone fetch me a fainting couch; I'm getting the vapors.

[Fury13]

Either that or the con is trying to get some lovin' from her husband [[I guess it's that time of month).

Ummm, no. He doesn't swing that way.