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Martin Luther King Street

From www.youtube.com - October 1, 2012 9:18 PM
A teaser trailer for the MLK Streets Project, a documentary film examining the state of the many avenues, boulevards and thoroughfares named after the slain ...


This video echoes much of what the authors of the fantastic book "Civil Rights Memorials and the Geography of Memory" say (in fact one of the authors is shown in this video).  Throughout America, streets that are named after Martin Luther King Jr. frequently are in poor, crime-ridden neighborhoods.  This video highlights the irony between the historical memory of Martin Luther King Jr. and places of memorialization that bear his name.   


Questions to ponder: If Matin Luther King Jr. represents non-violence, then why are streets bearing his name often in 'violent' neighborhoods?  Where should Martin Luther King be memorialized in the United States?  Only in the South?  Only in predominantly African-American communities?  Do the geography of the spaces where he is memorialized say something about the United States?    

 

Tags: historical, culture, landscape, place, race, unit 3 culture, USA, urban, poverty, unit 7 cities, book review. 

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melissa stjean's comment, October 8, 2012 9:49 PM
These streets are the most popular in the country, but they are located mostly located in areas with profoundly poorer incomes. With poorer incomes, leads to increased crime rates, does naming a street after an iconic hero please the people who live here? It seems like the geography of these places is creating a line of segregation by using his name for a street.
Jeff F's comment, October 8, 2012 10:42 PM
Martin Luther King Streets are places into prominently African-American neighborhoods because that is where the dominant white culture says they belong. Martin Luther King jr was a powerful African-American man and a powerful African-American man has no place in white communities according to this philosophy. If a MLK street was to be placed into a white suburb it would likely cause controversy. Cries of myths such as "reverse racism" would likely run rampant. This would be accompanied with the idea that a MLK street should only belong in an area with a heavy African-American population.
Jesse Gauthier's comment, October 14, 2012 3:49 PM
I think Martin Luther King should be memorialized in all parts of the country, and why not with all cultures and races. He did stand for non-violence and non-discrimination, which happens among all types of people.
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Britain's New Slogan: Don't Come to the U.K.!

Britain's New Slogan: Don't Come to the U.K.! | Geography Education | Scoop.it
From newsfeed.time.com - January 30, 3:06 PM
An advertising campaign designed to illustrate the drawbacks of living in the U.K. is being planned to deter an expected surge of immigrants, according to reports
Seth Dixon's insight:

Immigration is a sensitive topic so I'll tread lightly.  There appears to be some support for a campaign that would target would-be migrants specifically from Romania and Bulgaria that life in the U.K. isn't as as grand as it may seem (ironic coming of the heels of the Olympics).  This obviously isn't something that is universally supported by the British, but it does highlight the fact that more and more European countries are seeking ways to deter migrants from crossing their borders as economic struggles continue. 


Tags: migration, UK, immigration, Europe, unit 2 population. 

Meg Conheeny's comment, April 26, 3:09 PM
Immigration is a largely talked about topic, and many people have different views on the subject. Britain so badly doesn’t want these immigrants that they are willing to give their country a bad image just to push them away. It seems like they are happy with their people and population that they don’t want to see the population rise and they don’t want to give ad to anyone. The U.K isn't the only place that is trying to lower the migrants crossing over. Many places have strict immigration policies and don't want to push the countries population over the top.
Brittnie Helgerson's comment, April 28, 10:41 AM
When first reading the title of the article, I thought it seemed a bit harsh to just deter people from moving to the U.K. However, after reading the article, I do see why Britain would want to do such a thing. Because the quotas on limiting the number of immigrants from Bulgaria and Romania are expiring, there is obviously going the increase the number of people immigrating to Britain. However, I had no idea it could be as many people as some of the predictions are saying. If there was an influx of immigrants that large, it could really disrupt many aspects of life in Britain. With more people in Britain, the unemployment rate could increase, and as a result there could be more homeless people. There would be more people needing health care, which could possibly lead to less quality care for all patients.
The problem with making an ad campaign to make the U.K. look less desirable to potential immigrants is that they would be spending a lot of money to make Britain “look bad” but it’s not a guarantee that anyone would actually pay attention or take the campaign seriously. Last year Britain spent billions of dollars and to make it look good for the Olympics. So if people from Romania and Bulgaria already had their minds set on moving to Britain, an ad trying to deter them would be pointless.
Jess Pitrone's comment, April 29, 10:30 PM
Overpopulation due to immigration is a problem that plagues many nations. Usually, the immigration is due to citizens from other countries seeking political, economic, or religious refuge. It isn’t uncommon for countries to try to deter immigrants for this reason, but they may also want to deter them not because of overpopulation, but simply because they don’t want them there. It can make a government seem harsh or unwelcoming if they enact laws to prevent people from immigrating to their country, so I think that this advertising campaign is pretty genius. Enacting laws or putting quotas on immigrating doesn’t usually go over well (look at the American “Chinese Exclusion Act” of 1882), and it can definitely come back to bite you. What’s great about this UK ad, even though it’s basically an admission that they don’t want any immigrants, it’s a little more subtle.
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