Supporters praise newly minted Obama Boulevard in LA’S ‘iconic black community’
has streets named after presidents, such as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.
“We’re thrilled that Angelenos and visitors will forever be reminded of the legacy of President @Barackobama when traveling across L.A.,” Mayor Eric Garcetti announced in a tweet Tuesday night.
The change was announced on the anniversary of civil rights leader the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1963 “I Have a Dream” speech as well as the anniversary of Obama’s acceptance of the Democratic Party’s nomination for president in 2008.
The park where Obama President Barack Obama greets supporters during a rally at Rancho Cienega Sports Complex in Los Angeles in 2007.
A view of Rodeo Road in the Baldwin Village area. California schools also have been named after Obama, and in the Monterey Bay town of Seaside, city leaders designated one street Obama Way.
The name change sparked some debate in 2017, with some residents saying that Obama deserved to have his name on a more prominent street in Los Angeles. But Wesson defended the choice of Rodeo Road.
“People wanted a longer street, but what I have said to the people, it’s not about the length of the street, it’s about the significance of the street, it is about what happened on that street,” Wesson said at a council meeting in 2017.