School Trustees Back Naming of Convention Center for the Rev. King

The naming of the new downtown convention center for the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was supported Tuesday by trustees of the San Diego Unified School District, with Vice President Jim Roache saying the time has come for San Diego residents to put aside their differences over the controversial proposal.

The life of King “warrants this community’s admiration and acknowledgement,” Roache said in support of a vote last month by the San Diego City Council urging the San Diego Unified Port District to select King’s name for the center. The port will operate the center when it opens late this year.

Schools Supt. Tom Payzant said he brought the issue before the school board for support because “of my conviction that it is important for us as role models for 117,000 students to put our actions where our words are.

“We spend a lot of time teaching history, race/human relations, and cherishing the diversity in the community. . . . This is recognition in an important, symbolic way to say . . . we care about our history and acknowledge the importance of King’s contribution to it.”