Unity committee to consider changing Johnson Avenue to MLK, Jr. Avenue

A group wants to change the name of Johnson Avenue to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue and Mayor Harold Perrin is asking for volunteers to sit on the nine-person Unity Coalition Advisory Committee that will make a recommendation to the city.

The Jonesboro City Council voted to create the committee at its meeting Tuesday (June 18) after tabling a resolution to rename one of the main thoroughfares in the city. The council will review the matter again on Sept. 17 after the committee has done its work.

Perrin said he wants “the committee membership to comprise a diverse cross-section of the community” and submissions must be received by July 1.

A push to rename the road was started by the Craighead County branch of the NAACP. The resolution presented to the city council states that the section of Johnson from Dan Avenue to Hilltop Drive should be renamed for King and that new signs should be installed reflecting the designation.

Opponents of the change argued that Johnson is a well-established road in Jonesboro, that it could cause traffic confusion, and that another road should be selected. Proponents of the change argue the thoroughfare symbolically divides north and south Jonesboro, and it deserves this type of designation.

Those interested in serving on the Unity Coalition Advisory Committee must be 18 or older and apply either through email at [email protected], clicking the link on the city website homepage (Jonesboro.org), or by letter to Unity Coalition Advisory Committee, P.O. Box 1845, Jonesboro AR 72403.

The application must include legal name, address, email address and telephone as well as a resume listing experience or expertise that would benefit the committee.