Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / Aug. 21, 2004, edition 1 / Page 8
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8 SATURDAY, AUGUST 21, 2004 MLK debate continues, decision postponed II ii f tnH ■m M DTH/GILUAN BOLSOVER Michelle Cotton Laws interrupts a council meeting to speak her mind on the MLK Road naming issue, which proved a divisive point among locals. i , _> A * • M 3kamstyeab Rathskeller IBIENVENIDOS,ESTUDiAhnisi A Chapel Hill Dining Tradition Since 1948 | f ’ ■'' ■ ‘ 'H|\A/1 aK/CIgL/v&lcL^ Generations OF TOWNSPEOPLE, STUDENTS and alumni have made Ljj I $4 \ The Rathskeller one of North Carolina's largest legendary '#l H' 1 4 restaurants! For a memorable experience in Old World dining IN A REMARKABLE ATMOSPHERE, COME SEE yOUR FRIENDS AT "T HE RAT." L j§l MEXICAN WITH A TWIST II I Timberlyne Shopping Center, next to eckerp • Chapel Hill • 941-4745 Full Bar - All ABC Permits 157-A Franklin Street on Amber Alley *942-5158 Uyfl|iß|l as seers on tap I ANY ORDER $5 OR MORE EXPIRES 8/28/o4 rjg| vlovV/ 1^ I efl Live Blue Grass and I @f r r WmmlM $2.50 pints every Tuesday I I AHY ORDER OF $7 OR MORE AlsUO* MltgAfOOtH PiXM 3M"B /&02 €. trauMi* St. GAaped m NC 27bib Welcome Back Naming committee to mull options BY SHANNAN BOWEN AND JOSEPH R. SCHWARTZ SENIOR WRITERS June 17 More than 100 citi zens showed up to Monday night’s Town Council meeting seeking clo sure to an issue that many claim has escalated from renaming a road to uncovering thick racial divisions in the town. But they’ll have to wait a little longer. Instead of settling the ongoing debate, the council voted 5 to 4 to create a committee comprised of about 20 townspeople and experts for continued dialogue on renam ing Airport Road in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. The vote caused a literal uprise among some residents, including Michelle Cotton Laws, who deliber ately interrupted discussion of the resolution, saying that Rosa Parks rose up and she will rise, too. “We have silently sat, protested here and there,” she said in an interview Tuesday. “I could no lon ger sit and be subjected to that ... I rose to make the statement that gone are the days that are sitting passively by.” Mayor Kevin Foy„who proposed the resolution, began the public forum by stating that he personally thought renaming the road was an appropriate way to honor King. But, he said, “This is about race.” Foy admitted that the council had not approached the matter appropriately and that further discussion was needed to proceed in a direction that addressed not only the issue of renaming Airport Road, but also issues of race and community relations that have become more tense since the debate was first brought to the table almost a year ago. “I don’t feel comfortable taking action this evening that I think will result in people shouting at each other not talking to each other,” he said. “We do what we do when we have a thorny issue. We don’t impose the will of nine people in the community; we do what members of this community think is best.” But Council members Mark Kleinschmidt, Bill Strom, Cam Hill and Sally Greene, who were in opposition to Foy’s proposal, said they did not want to delay action. Kleinschmidt said Foy’s proposal was merely a defacto vote in oppo sition to renaming the road. But Wiggins disputed that notion. “No one is this room would like to see a road named after Dr. King more than I would,” she said. “I have been in favor of the renaming but not in an ‘in your face, I don’t care what you think way,’ and that has been part of the process.” ioilij Sar Mppl Wiggins, who led the Renaming Committee, said in the end she was uncomfortable that the commit tee only queried the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. But proponents of the change said little will come from further dialogue, noting that those who live on Airport Road always will want to keep their address. Resident Dan Coleman reflected on the 1960 sand the struggle to pass the public accommodations law, noting that a similar commit tee was formed at that time. “The result: Chapel Hill did noth ing, and justice was delayed." Foy said he will safeguard against concerns that a delay will diminish community support, but that an amicable solution must be reached. “I don’t want this to be a racially divisive issue in our community.” Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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Aug. 21, 2004, edition 1
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