Creating a new geography of memory in the South: The politics of (re)naming streets after Martin Luther King, Jr

This dissertation explores, theoretically and empirically, the emerging cultural geography of (re)naming streets after slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. (MLK) in the American South and, in particular, Georgia. In the last ten years or so, the South has seen tremendous challenges and changes to its commemorative landscapes, with many inspired and mobilized by the region's black population. (Re)naming streets after King represents one of the most widespread yet under analyzed of the South's new geographies of memory. While reflecting the increased political and cultural power of blacks, these named streets are often sites of struggle for African-Americans as they attempt to (re)define King's "place" within the cultural landscape and collective memory of the post-Civil Rights Era South. The dissertation has two primary objectives: (1) to identify and analyze the spatial distribution and intra-urban characteristics of streets named after King using electronic phone directories and other digital data sources; and (2) to articulate a theory for explaining the politics of MLK street (re)naming and then evaluate this theory by conducting case studies of two small cities in Georgia, Statesboro (Bulloch County) and Eatonton (Putnam County). In developing this theoretical framework, I suggest that African-Americans face four primary struggles in attempting to (re)name a street after King, struggles concerning: (1) the politics of naming places; (2) the politics of memory; (3) the politics of geographic scale; and (4) the politics of public space. Underlying all these themes is a recognition of the hybrid nature of cultural identities and struggles. Through an analysis of MLK street (re)naming, this dissertation builds a greater understanding of: (1) the role and struggles of African-Americans in reshaping urban cultural landscapes; (2) how geography constitutes and structures struggles over commemoration and identity within society, particularly southern society; (3) the necessity of examining the intra-urban locational context of place naming; and (4) the position of place naming within ongoing struggles over racial identity and the meaning and use of public space.