Finding Martin Luther King Jr. In America's Streets

Martin Luther King Jr. is perhaps one of the most famous civil rights leaders in the United States. His name is synonymous with words like “nonviolence,” and “racial justice.” It’s easy to see Dr. King as a symbol for peace.

Somewhere along the way, King’s name became the punch line of the quintessential Chris Rock joke about Martin Luther King Jr. boulevards, and it stuck. But what’s the real story behind MLK-named streets?

Watch the first episode of A King’s Place above to find out how Dr. King’s memory is memorialized in different cities. In the case of Harlem’s Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, more commonly known as 125th Street, is King’s legacy honored by the area’s gentrification?