DETROIT (WXYZ) — "When you remove Phil Hart's name from Hart Plaza, you are erasing an important part of American history," said Sam Riddle, political director for the Michigan chapter of the National Action Network.
At-Large Detroit City Council Member Mary Waters submitted a resolution to change the name of Hart Plaza to King Plaza.
Waters told 7 Action News that some Detroiters were the ones to actually suggest renaming it after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. because of his position on peace and non-violence.
In the resolution, Waters includes, ".. that the plaza be declared a violence-free zone, in alignment with the values of our city that Dr. King so eloquently articulated 60 years ago."
Hart Plaza is named after the late U.S. Senator Phil Hart from Michigan. Hart was a champion for the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and served as floor manager of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
His work is why he was often referred to as “The Conscience of the Senate.”
In a statement, Riddle said, "The very fact that there is even a proposal to remove Hart's name from Hart Plaza is an indictment of the failure to teach history that is so vital to hold this nation together during times when even the ultimate American abomination, slavery, is minimized. There is no American city better than Detroit to have and maintain a Hart Plaza."
Responding to Riddle's statements to council, Waters told 7 Action News, "He thinks the world of Phil Hart. And I'm not diminishing that at all. I have respect for that. And I'm so grateful that he and Martin Luther King had a great friendship, working relationship, and that he was the conscience of the U.S. Senate."
On Tuesday, Waters said she amended her resolution as a compromise to those Detroiters who wanted to keep Hart's name on the plaza.
Waters encourages Detroiters to call her office to share their thoughts on a possible name change for Hart Plaza. She said she'll learn next month what her colleagues on council think when they begin formal discussions on the matter.
