Throughout history, streets and alleys were given names to tell stories, identify neighborhoods or memorialize people or events. As history evolves, so do streets often renamed to reflect a more relevant and contemporary time.
In D.C., three years after the murder of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on April 15, 1968, the D.C. Council approved the renaming of Nichols Avenue in Southeast to Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue on King’s birthday, Jan. 15. Ten years later, in 1982, Portland Street, which intersects with King Avenue, was renamed Malcolm X Avenue. And, on Saturday, Nov. 18, another street that intersects with King Avenue, Good Hope Road, will be renamed Marion S. Barry Avenue in honor of the four-time mayor of the District of Columbia, who died on Nov. 23, 2014.
Barry Avenue joins dozens of D.C. streets permanently or ceremonially renamed, mostly for men we might add, whose numerous and collective contributions impact the lives of all D.C. residents. These street signs tell the story of individuals who fought for the District to become the first to free its enslaved people, contributed to this democracy, sought to uplift residents economically, spiritually and scientifically, and who died hoping their lives were not lived in vain.
It would be wonderful if street names alone would magically recreate neighborhoods reflective of the hopes and dreams of those for whom they were renamed. And in some strange way, they do. Barry Avenue reflects the role he wanted government to play in serving people where they are, of promoting entrepreneurship and providing services to those impacted by poverty and drug addiction. It is a corridor that provides affordable housing, supplies children and adults with a library where they can read and to learn, and a park intended as a safe place for seniors.
Street names represent the hope that those for whom they are named will be fulfilled.