Derek Alderman is a cultural geographer. He studies human attachment to a sense of place. And in particular, controversies over streets.
Dr. Alderman has written extensively about passions that erupt when local officials consider renaming a street in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Since just such a controversy is now raging in one Virginia community, some additional insight into cultural geography could be on its way just in time.
Guests:
Derek H. Alderman, Ph.D. - Co-author, Civil Rights Memorials and the Geography of Memory (University of Georgia Press). Chair, Department of Geography, University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
Brian Martin Burkholder, M.Div. - Proponent of a suggestion to change the name of Cantrell Avenue in Harrisonburg, Virginia to “Martin Luther King, Jr. Way.” Member of the City of Harrisonburg’s Martin Luther King Jr. Naming Task Force. Supporter of a Petition Drive asking Harrisonburg City Council to approve the renaming proposal.
Rhonda Lentz - Opponent of a suggestion to change the name of Cantrell Avenue in Harrisonburg, Virginia to “Martin Luther King, Jr. Way.” One of the leaders of a Petition Drive asking Harrisonburg City Council to reject the renaming proposal.