Los Angeles Blacks Roiled Over Renaming Storied Street

Residents of Crenshaw Blvd. say that city hall's proposal disrespects the culture embodied by the road and its name.

1 minute read

July 8, 2003, 7:00 AM PDT

By Chris Steins @planetizen


"The road has been immortalized in hip-hop verse by Rappers Tupak Shakur and Ice Cube. Actor Denzel Washington won his Oscar for 'Training Day,' filmed up and down the street. Director John Singleton spotlighted the area in his box-office smash, 'Boyz 'N the Hood,' with Cuba Gooding Jr., and basketball hall-of-famer Magic Johnson built his eponymous multiplex cinema here... The argument of the street's name pits residents such as Muhammad against their own city council representatives and is bringing fresh charges that there remains a troubling divide between Los Angeles government leaders and their grass-roots constituents."

Thanks to Laura Kranz

Tuesday, July 8, 2003 in The Christian Science Monitor

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