Saturday, May 08, 1999
Memorial to King sought
Survey: 12th St. Bridge is top choice
BY CINDY SCHROEDER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
COVINGTON — When the 12th Street Bridge is rebuilt later this year, supporters of a tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Covington are lobbying to have it renamed for the slain civil rights leader.
The proposal was among the top suggestions for honoring the Rev. Dr. King in a recent survey of 1,200 Covington residents, said Rollins Davis, executive director of the Northern Kentucky Community Center.
Mr. Davis is chairman of a 12-member committee of civic leaders that recently polled Covington residents on their interest in a memorial to Dr. King.
“The people that we surveyed overwhelmingly supported the idea of a memorial to Dr. King,” Mr. Davis said.
The committee also is recommending that an entry area to the bridge on the Covington side be named Freedom Square.
“We'd also like to see a bust or a statue or some sort of monument to Dr. King there that would contain part of one of his speeches,” Mr. Davis said.
To complete the tribute, the committee also is looking into establishing a Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. scholarship fund for Covington residents.
Survey respondents deemed those proposals the best of about a dozen suggestions for honoring the Rev. Dr. King, Mr. Davis said.
“Right now, we're still at the vision point,” Mr. Davis said. “We know we'd like to have all these things accomplished. We realize we may not be able to make all these things come true, but at least we have a plan at this point.”
Covington City Manager Greg Jarvis said city officials would be willing to talk to state transportation officials about renaming the 12th Street Bridge.
To rename the bridge, supporters would need to petition Kentucky's secretary of transportation, specifying their reasons for the name change, and documenting the local support for it, said Robin Jenkins, spokeswoman for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet.
“It's something that would be symbolic,” Mr. Davis said of the proposal to rename the bridge and create a memorial near it. “It would be something positive for people to see.”
Ten years ago, an effort to rename 12th Street for Dr. King failed, partly because some businesses balked at changing their letterheads.
Mr. Davis said several subcommittees have been formed to look into how to fund the memorial to Dr. King, as well as the scholarship fund.
“We invite anyone who's interested to join us,” Mr. Davis said. The committee will next meet at 4 p.m. on May 19 at the Northern Kentucky Community Center in Covington.
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