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KANSAS CITY, Mo. After years of debate, the Kansas City Parks Board is set to vote on a resolution that would rename a street after Martin Luther King Jr.

The resolution would rename parts of Blue Parkway from Elmwood Avenue to Swope Parkway, Swope Parkway from Blue Parkway to Volker and Volker from Swope Parkway to Brookside Boulevard as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

If the board votes in favor of the resolution, it would be the latest chapter in a years-long back and forth between city leaders and residents on how to honor the late civil rights leader. Kansas City is one of the largest cities in the U.S. without a street to honor MLK Jr.

KC Parks Commissioner Chris Goode is behind the citys most recent push to dedicate a street in Kings honor. He said the time is right, especially in the wake of police killings of unarmed Black men and women and social unrest.

Dr. King is somebody who stood against behavior, this type of oppression, this type of racism, this type of hatred. And so to be able to honor Dr. King in one of the few remaining cities in this country, Im very hopeful that this will take place, Goode said.

In 2018, then-Mayor Sly James formed a committee that would explore renaming a street in honor of MLK. Then, in 2019, the Kansas City Council voted to rename The Paseo Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

The new street signs went up in February 2019, but they wouldnt stay for long. The issue was put on the November ballot and voters handily voted to change the name back to The Paseo.

The effort to change the name back was spearheaded by a group called Save The Paseo.

The groups organizer, Diane Euston, said people felt they didnt get a say in the process.

The whole idea is to give everyone in the city a chance to decide, Euston said. Thats how it should be especially when you are changing something that has so many memories and tangible history attached to it. Thats how it should be done.

The decision wasnt without criticism. After the vote, Congressman Emanuel Cleaver criticized the tactics of the Save The Paseo group and their silent protest at Paseo Baptist Church.

Even the Klan never marched into a church where the (Southern Christian Leadership Conference), which I was involved with, was holding a rally, Cleaver told PoliticsNation with Al Sharpton on MSNBC.

After the vote, Mayor Quinton Lucas announced that the KC Parks Board would hold a series of public meetings and come up with a recommendation for how to best honor Dr. King.

I learned from my mistakes, Lucas said in 2019. The process was one that was less than ideal. It didnt reflect enough public engagement. I have regret, I know a lot of people did. I recall some of my friends who supported the MLK name said they would meet with people up and down the street, that never happened what we make sure happens is that we have that level of engagement instead of just saying itll be this or that.

The parks board is set to consider the resolution at 2 p.m. Tuesday at theKansas City Parks Administration building, 4600 East 63rd Street Trafficway.

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After years of debate, KC Parks board to vote on naming street after MLK Jr. - WDAF FOX4 Kansas City

Joe Biden went on ESPN to endorse the demand of the Major League Baseball Players Union that MLBs All-Star game be relocated from Atlanta to protest Georgias new voting law. MLB Commissioner Bob Manfred then promptly announced he would, in fact, relocate the All-Star Game because that was the best way to demonstrate our values as a sport. He was evidently responding not only to Bidens criticisms of the new law but to demands from Stacey Abrams, Al Sharpton, and others that MLB denounce it. He apparently believed that keeping the All-Star Game in Atlanta would elicit disruptive political protests and player protests. So how restrictive is the law? Is Biden right to say its Jim Crow on steroids? And how does it compare with election laws in other states with MLB teams, or in other countries where Manfred wants to establish MLB teams and operations?

A section of the law which prohibits people from supplying voters with food and water within 150 feet of a polling place does seem harsh. Its intent is to prevent representatives from candidates and interest groups from electioneering on behalf of their causes by distributing food and water to voters. But election officials can make water available, and voters can always bring their own water with them anyway, so whats the problem?

The Washington Post, whose liberal editorial page has regularly endorsed Democratic presidential nominees, including Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Joe Biden, further claims that Georgias new law makes it harder to cast absentee ballots, reducing drop boxes for mail ballots, barring mobile voting places and for making significant procedural changes that potentially give more power to the GOP-controlled legislature in the election process. But the Post also admits that Bidens most harsh and frequent criticism of the law is flat-out false.

Biden said that the law will limit the hours during which Georgians can vote. At his March 25 press conference, Biden said, What Im worried about is how un-American this whole initiative is. Its sick. Its sick deciding that youre going to end voting at five oclock when working people are just getting off work. The next day he said, Among the outrageous parts of this new state law, it ends voting hours early so working people cant cast their vote after their shift is over.

As the Post and other outlets have said, Bidens remarks are simply false. The new law provides for the polls on Election Day to remain open from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm, not 5:00 pm, as Biden keeps saying. Moreover, the new law mandates that counties permit early voting for a minimum of eight hours a day, an expansion over what the previous law required. The Post concluded that One could understand a flub in a news conference. But then this same claim popped up in an official presidential statement. Not a single expert we consulted who has studied the law understood why Biden made this claim, as this was the section of law that expanded early voting for many Georgians. Somehow Biden managed to turn that expansion into a restriction aimed at working people, calling it among the outrageous parts of the law. Theres no evidence that is the case. The president earns Four Pinocchios.

Theres no evidence in Manfreds statements to indicate he has actually read the law, or news analyses of the law, or really has any idea of whats in it. This becomes especially clear when one compares Georgia with places to which Manfred actually wants to maintain or even expand MLB operations.

Karl Rove has compared Georgias laws to those of other states which have more restrictive voting laws yet which also have MLB teams or operations undisturbed by Manfred and free of criticism from Biden. Rove writes, for example:

Georgia has a robust early-voting period, expanded by the new law to 17 days, with two optional Sundays. New York has only eight days of early voting, while neighboring Connecticut and New Jersey have none. Youd think the woke commissioner would speak out against these restrictions to the ballot box, but youd be wrong.

If Mr. Manfreds concerns were authentic, hed condemn states such as Missouri, which has two major-league teamsthe Royals and the Cardinalsbut doesnt allow no-excuse absentee voting or early voting. But he wont.

Theres no early voting in Michigan, so youd think hed work to ensure every Tiger fan participates in shaping the United States, which he said he wants for everyone. But again, he wont.

Ohio and Pennsylvania each have two pro baseball teams, yet neither state has early voting. Minnesota has the Twins and Wisconsin the Brewers, yet no early voting. While Massachusetts allowed no-excuse vote by mail in 2020 because of the pandemic, it expires June 30. And Red Sox fans across the border in New Hampshire must have an excuse to vote by mail and theres no early voting. When will Mr. Manfred speak out against all this voter suppression? Or is Georgia the only state worthy of his condemnation?

And theres Cuba and China. He wants an MLB team in Cuba, and more broadcasts of MLB games in China. Both Cuba and especially China are brutal Communist dictatorships. China in particular keeps threatening the freedom of Taiwan, has destroyed the freedom of Hong Kong, and, according to Joe Bidens Justice Department, is committing genocide against the Uighurs. So how can Manfred possibly claim that either Cuba or China has less restrictive voting laws than Georgia?

In deciding to move the MLB All-Star Game from Atlanta at Bidens behest, Manfred has only deepened the political controversy in which he finds himself. And to make matters worse, Biden and Abrams have begun to question the wisdom of relocations and boycotts since whatever else they do, they cause job losses and other damage to the local economy. That leaves Manfred increasingly alone in his decision, facing criticisms as best he can. Tough.

Malcolm L. Cross has lived in Stephenville and taught politics and government at Tarleton since 1987. His political and civic activities include service on the Stephenville City Council (2000-2014) and on the Erath County Republican Executive Committee (1990 to the present). He was Mayor Pro Tem of Stephenville from 2008 to 2014. He is a member of St. Lukes Episcopal Church and the Stephenville Rotary Club, and does volunteer work for the Boy Scouts of America.Views expressed in this column are his and do not reflect those of The Flash as a whole.

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Joe and Bob Strike Out The Flash Today || Erath County - The Flash Today

"At this moment, we're turning to a higher court," said attorney Ben Crump as he introduced Sharpton.

MINNEAPOLIS As the murder trial of Derek Chauvin continues, civil rights leader Rev. Al Sharpton led a prayer for justice outside the Hennepin County Government Center.

The reverend was joined Tuesday morning by several Floyd family members, the mother of Eric Garner, and civil rights attorney Ben Crump.

"At this moment, we're turning to a higher court," Crump said as he introduced Sharpton.

Sharpton said he prayed for strength -- both for Floyd's family and for people around the country.

"Dear God, we come standing in front of a building where a jury is listening to evidence," Sharpton began. "But you know, Lord, you hold the world in the palm of your hand, and we believe if we stand for what's right that you will give us justice."

Sharpton is the founder of the National Action Network, an organization that calls attention to issues like racism, police brutality and racial profiling. In his Tuesday prayer, he also spoke on the proposed George Floyd Justice in Policing Act and racism around the country.

"...That we will be able to use this trial and this occasion to let America know: get your knee off our neck," he said. "God made your knee to bend your leg, not to bend our life."

He ended his short prayer with a request that justice in the trial be met with togetherness "to understand that you made us all one human race."

Also present was George Floyd's brother Philonise Floyd, who put his arm around Gwen Carr, whose son Eric Garner's last words of "I can't breathe" became a rallying cry in the movement against police brutality.

"But one thing I can tell you, me and Miss Gwen Carr, after we get the verdict, and we get this conviction, we'll be able to breathe."

You can watch the prayer service below.

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Rev. Al Sharpton, Floyd family hold prayer as Chauvin trial continues - KARE11.com

New York City Mayoral candidate Ray McGuire has avoided calls to defund the NYPD, but said as mayor he would provide police body camera footage within 48 hours of request. | David Dee Delgado/Getty Images

Mayoral candidate Ray McGuire will take a break from the campaign trail Tuesday to attend the ongoing trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer accused of killing George Floyd.

McGuire will join Rev. Al Sharpton, former governor and current lobbyist David Paterson and Gwen Carr the mother of Eric Garner, who was killed in a police chokehold in 2014 to support Floyds family and underscore his own commitment to police reform.

I am going to Minneapolis on behalf of all New Yorkers to express our support for George and his family, and to experience the American judicial system and how the system deals with incontrovertible evidence of murder, McGuire, a political neophyte and former Citigroup executive, said in a statement. This was nine minutes and 29 seconds of cold-blooded murder.

The one-day trip comes on the heels of McGuire joining more than 70 Black business leaders across the city in signing an open letter to pressure executives at major corporations to denounce restrictive voting legislation in Georgia.

This is not partisan. Theres no middle ground here, McGuire told Sharpton on his MSNBC show Sunday. Unless we stand up today, we may be laying down tomorrow, without a vote.

One of three Black candidates in the eight-way Democratic race, McGuire met Floyds family during an anniversary March on Washington last year and vowed to attend the trial. He will join Carr, who has endorsed his candidacy for mayor, in a private room with the Floyd family.

McGuires team emphasized this is not a campaign event, but rather an opportunity for the candidate who is trailing in the polls despite spending $1.2 million so far on TV ads to show support for families affected by police brutality.

He has avoided calls to defund the NYPD, but said as mayor he would provide police body camera footage within 48 hours of request and break with current practice by exerting control over his police commissioner in cases of disagreement over disciplinary matters.

Sharpton has yet to offer his coveted endorsement to anyone in the field.

I'd like to see all the mayoral candidates do something to show that they're committed to police reform. I think they all have taken good rhetorical positions but I have not seen any of them yet distinguish themselves to the degree that they could, he said in an interview Monday.

He said most of the contenders including former police officer and top-tier candidate Eric Adams call him weekly.

The unsaid thing is, have I changed my mind about an endorsement? Sharpton said. One person phoned him early on Sunday, as he was leaving the gym. I dont think they called to see if I had an Easter bunny for Easter, lets put it that way.

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Ray McGuire to join Sharpton, Gwen Carr at Chauvin trial - Politico

The Rev. Al Sharpton and Ben Crump, a lawyer for George Floyds family, told supporters on Monday, just as witnesses began to give testimony during the trial, that the world was focused on the case of the former police officer Derek Chauvin in the death of Mr. Floyd.

America is on trial to see if we have gotten to the place where we can hold police accountable if they break the law, the reverend, a longtime civil rights activist, said outside the Hennepin County Courthouse. The law is for everybody. Policemen are not above the law. Policemen are subject to the law, and thats whats going on in this courtroom.

Mr. Crump said the trial would be a moment for America to show the rest of the world that it remained the standard-bearer when it comes to liberty and justice for all.

George Floyd galvanized cities all across America, and all across the world, when that video, that video of torture was viewed millions and millions of times, Mr. Crump said. The whole world is watching.

Mr. Crump was among the lawyers who represented Mr. Floyds relatives in their lawsuit against the City of Minneapolis. This month, the city agreed to pay $27 million to the family, a settlement that is one of the largest of its kind.

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Al Sharpton and Ben Crump Warn That the 'World is Watching' As Witnesses Testify - The New York Times