*Former President Barack Obama is now a part of the Los Angeles landscape as the city has renamed one of its streets in his honor.
At a ceremony by LA officials, on Saturday, a 3.5 mile stretch of Rodeo Boulevard was named “Obama Boulevard” The event also included a concert, but it was not attended by the man himself.
Herb Wesson, the City Council president noted that the location was geographically significant as it was located near the site of one of the former president’s campaign rallies in 2007.
“With this change, we are publicly documenting what Obama’s legacy as our nation’s first black President means to our city and our South Los Angeles community.
“For every child who will drive down this street and see the President’s name, this will serve as a physical reminder that no goal is out of reach and that no dream is too big,”Wesson added.
FORMER SHERIFF AND TRUMP LOYALIST DAVID A. CLARKE BANNED FROM FOX NEWS
Here with CM @HerbJWesson, Sup. @MRidleyThomas, Rep. @MariaEDurazo and the @LAUrbanLeague for #ObamaFestLA to name #ObamaBlvd and etch President Obama’s name and legacy even deeper in our city’s story. pic.twitter.com/opinsPUAx0
— Mayor Eric Garcetti (@MayorOfLA) May 5, 2019
The road intersects with other another street named after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., as well as the city’s “Presidential Row” of streets named after former presidents including Washington, Jefferson, and Adams. That fact was spoken on by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti.
“As we drive through this city and we see past presidents on Adams, on Washington, on Jefferson, now we’ll have one that was in our lifetime, who was a president for everybody: Barack Hussein Obama,” Garcetti said.
NBC4 spoke to EURweb columnist Earl Ofari Hutchinson, a political analyst and author who has lived in the area for 50 years, who said he hopes the name change will lead to more investments in the neighborhood.
“The area needs not just street name change, but also fresh programs, initiatives and spending on jobs, education, and housing programs for the mostly black and Hispanic low-income residents that live on or near Obama Boulevard,” Hutchinson said. “This will truly be the greatest way to pay tribute to Obama.”
At this point, we’d love to know how President Obama feels about all of this, since we haven’t heard anything from him regarding the situation.
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