UH law faculty/employees pass resolution rename Calhoun Rd. "MLK Blvd."

Unanimously!

http://www.law.uh.edu/news/summer2020/0807UHLC.asp?fbclid=IwAR1fsTLXIylg28N_rVaFlgxBbMCSuqmJjN6VI3HMJ141RCXU6iKLtJWz4mo

It was only a matter of time.

Isn’t there an MLK Blvd. just south of UH?

If it was going to change based on current events, why not John Lewis Blvd?

Or maybe I’m missing something.

3 Likes

It’s the same road. MLK changes into Calhoun at Wheeler. This will just extend the road name up to spur 5.

2 Likes

I am 100% for the change especially when it comes to MLK now this.

Does this mean Sam Houston is next?
The questions has to be asked. The same logic applies to all. Now you understand that this “cancel culture” has no ends in sight. Care to disagree? The floor is yours.

3 Likes

Don’t Mess with Sam!!!

Edit:
I like Kelly Rowland’s idea to stop having Cancel Culture to “Play God”.

But I like my idea the best of just cancelling Cancel Culture. They are purely un-American!

1 Like

South Park Blvd was renamed to MLK in
1977/78 timeframe. The intersection of
South Park and Calhoun was always a weird
intersection as the 2 streets converged at a very acute angle. So I understand why folks may call
it the same street. It would “make more sense” to
me to keep MLK the same , as where South Park always ended, and rename the portion of Calhoun that runs thru the campus as John Lewis Blvd.

Sam was a contract officer in forces used by Jackson to fight Choctaw, Creek, and Cherokee indigenous people in northern Alabama, northwestern Georgia and eastern Tennessee in the 1820s. 60,000,000 acres were at stake and Jackson was the biggest real estate promoter in the south


You could say the same about Hugh Roy Cullen, who made our University what it is today.

He was a “Dixiecrat” who once called FDR’s policies “the Jew deal.”

I’m amazed that the Cullen name hasn’t been targeted for “cancelation” yet, but stay tuned!

Perhaps Ben Taub who was Jewish should get more credit then Cullen.

The way the intersection is configured now, Calhoun terminates into MLK south of Wheeler. North of Wheeler, MLK runs continuously into Calhoun. Would be more logical to me to rename to MLK north of Wheeler.

I would have no problem renaming the remainder of Calhoun – along MacGregor Park, continuing through Foster Place to the railroad tracks, then continuing on the south side of South Loop to Cullen. That miles long road would be a more fitting tribute to John Lewis than a couple blocks through UH, and also culturally relevant to the neighborhood.

I also like the idea of extending MLK deeper into campus. Not only to honor a great American, which is reason enough, but secondarily for the strictly navigational reason of making a stronger link to UH on a major thoroughfare from the South Loop.

2 Likes

This exactly why this cancel culture has no clue about our own/their own history. If the cancel culture made sense it would have no ends. Shame on the media for promoting it. hopefully we can all agree on that. You all remember 'History repeats itself"

1 Like

Law - this is about the 5th time I have seen you bring up my original research on the Cullen’s. It probably hasn’t been brought up because the Cancel Culture aren’t aware of it. But he did donate the land for the sole purpose to open TSU.

That’s probably a better idea of renaming Calhoun
for Lewis. Of course the Cancer Culture is going
to have hard time living with those changes.

EDIT - Daily Cougar student article from 5 years ago!

That was because he wanted to keep schools segregated, right? TSU was a legal compromise.

1 Like

Is it more poisonous to be ignorant of history or of nuance? I think the latter is driving the former right now, and not just for iconoclasts. I also think it’s because all the kids tv in the 90s was all about good vs evil and following dreams and finding one’s own truth. Those aren’t very good for understanding nuance. Watching TV with my kid today, I think that’s changed, and someday the grownups will think and speak more constructively. The world isn’t about to end for any number of the reasons we’re so afraid of, so let’s just all be a little more charitable until the pendulum swings back. Of course, then we’ll complain about how everyone is so wishy washy


1 Like

The history around the birth and development of Texas Southern is long as it was with almost all HBCU’s in a segregated south. Attached is the history and it is long and complex across almost two generations under the law of segregation throughout the south and the law of the land of separate but equal as ruled by the USSC. Texas Southern’s birth was tied to the attempt to desegregate UT.

I know that Cullen donated the land to establish TSU and without the land TSU does not get built where it is today. I have no evidence of his motivations besides he donated the land and a donation is a donation.

Also, written in the attached, Cullen’s politics were complex. Texas, like all southern states were heavily under the control politically of the Democratic Party of which Cullen was a Democrat. Supposedly he had issues with the Democratic Party’s socialism drift, or at least that part of it, but he was also sympathetic or “aided” the Dixiecrat movement for a period of time, along with supporting the Republican Party which was practically non-existant in the south in that time period.

If you have more than that, please bring it forward. But overall, I would be careful about Cancel Culturing the founding family of the University of Houston and all that family has done for UH along with the founding of Texas Southern.

TSU grew quickly and was poised to take off if they got the same funding like they were supposed to at the time as they were supposed to be the black UT. They opened with an integrated board of regents also so there were other intentions initially. Both UH and TSU opened as junior colleges designed to educate teachers.

If separate but equal was enforced no telling what would’ve happened.

If they could do it all over again both schools probably would’ve been opened off 288 in Pearland knowing the value of inner city land now lol

1 Like

True, if they were building them for the 21st century back in the 1st and 2nd quarter of the 20th century. Plus, UH would not have been given the name UH.

When UH was given birth, Houston was only 140K people and when TSU was born Houston had 384K people. And finally, it was the land the Cullen family had available to donate for both universities.

1 Like

From 3 years ago -

“ See the University of Houston’s full statement below:

"The University of Houston does not have statues, memorials or monuments honoring the Confederate era. Calhoun Lofts were originally named to coincide with the name of the adjacent city street when the university began its aggressive residential expansion in the last decade. While the residence hall was not named in recognition of John C. Calhoun, in the wake of recent events, and out of sensitivity to our diverse student community the university has decided to change the name to University Lofts. The change will be made as soon as practical.”

1 Like