Houston City Council met Wednesday where members voted to rename part of Calhoun Road to Martin Luther King Boulevard, upon the request of the University.
Calhoun Road will remain the same south of Wheeler Ave. The section of the street from Wheeler Avenue to TX-5, spanning almost all of the UH campus, will be renamed.
The uncontested, unanimous vote came after UH made the request to the city council in July.
Calhoun Road was originally named after the seventh U.S. vice president John C. Calhoun, who was a staunch supporter of the South nationalism during that era and an advocate for slavery.
“The name of the street on which our university resides should not be counter to the ideals and mission of our community and a university that celebrates diversity and rejects beliefs associated with racial suppression and inequality,” Khator wrote to Councilmember Carolyn Evans-Shabazz, District D representative.
The University also changed the name of the Calhoun Lofts dorm, to University Lofts in 2017 for similar reasons.
FKM Properties, a company that owns the strip that houses The Nook Cafe, Pink’s Pizza and other campus staples, opposed the change.
The change will take effect in 90 days.