Commentary : Public Had Its Chance to Name Center

A man stood to speak at the second public forum of the Martin Luther King Tribute Advisory Board. His demeanor and dress were forbidding. He had a slight resemblance to Adolf Hitler, or maybe Charlie Chaplin, but, judging from his intense glare, he wasn’t here to entertain us with pratfalls.

King was a womanizer, he told us. He was also a Communist. The speaker had no whit of reliable evidence to support his claims, and he could barely conceal his hatred for blacks as he spoke. King did not deserve to be honored, he said; King was a disgrace to the United States of America.

I haven’t been able to forget that man. I thought of him during all the subsequent meetings the board held.

As the attendance at the eight public meetings dwindled, I wondered about the viability of our task. We had to recommend a suitable tribute for the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a man who, even after death, engenders passions of antipathy and reverence. But the city seemed stricken by a civic anemia: Even after the bitter fight over Market Street/King Way, few people came forward to offer a better idea.

Where, I wondered, were all the people who said: “I’m not a racist. King deserves to be honored, but the City Council tried to sneak the street name change past us”? Where were these people who, a few months before, were so eager to participate in finding a tribute for the martyred civil rights leader?

I thought of that angry man, and I wondered if there was any difference between him and the people who vehemently opposed King Way. Their absence from our meetings seemed to lend credence to claims that their opposition was motivated by racism.

I wondered how these people, or people like them, would respond to our final recommendation? The brilliance of our tribute decision, I hoped, would outshine the glare of any opposition lit by ignorance.

I was naive.

Ignorance can design sly ways to disguise itself as wisdom.

Some people have said the convention center already has a name and that changing it would go against the tribute advisory board’s own stated goals; some people claim that affixing King’s name to the convention center will lessen San Diego’s identity with the building; other people say that naming the convention center in honor of King will make it harder to market the building worldwide. And, most ludicrous of all, a few people allege that the citizens of San Diego haven’t had a chance to give their input.

The last argument against the tribute relates nicely to the first one. What citizen input was there in the first place when the name San Diego Convention Center was selected? I don’t remember any. Maybe there was, but it wasn’t publicized sufficiently. That is one of the same arguments the pro-Market Street people used, isn’t it? At best, San Diego Convention Center is only a working title.

The most insulting arguments against the San Diego Martin Luther King Convention Center dwell in the gritty world of economics. What are people telling us about themselves, about their prejudices, when they say King’s name will drive away business? (As if money is more important than a community’s dignity.)

King’s name on the building will not obscure San Diego. His name will illuminate it. It saddens me to hear our business leaders whine about the horrible injustice they will suffer if King’s name is emblazoned on the convention center. How will the name of a man who preached against violence and hatred hurt business?

By naming the convention center after the Martin Luther King, we are telling the world that we are a community of peace, love and equality. The name will advertise to all who come here for their car shows and sales meetings that we believe in the values espoused by King. When people in Singapore talk about that wonderful city in California, somebody in the group will comment that he or she “felt marvelously welcome in San Diego.” The spirit of the man will radiate throughout the building--if we allow it, if we welcome it.

The San Diego Unified Port District should not let this opportunity slip away. The commissioners should ignore the plaintive cries of those who had a chance to express their opinions to the advisory board but chose to remain silent, and name the convention center for the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. By doing so, not only do they honor King, they honor San Diego.