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Even though it runs through the heart of L.A.s Baldwin Hills/Crenshaw neighborhood, most Angelenos would be hard pressed to locate Rodeo Road on a map.

In fact, theyd probably point to its ritzy doppelganger Beverly Hills Rodeo Drive instead.

That may change very soon, however.

Residents here are cheering a proposal to rename the asphalt thoroughfare in honor of former President Obama, who visited here when he was a U.S. senator.

The news that southwest L.A.'s Rodeo Road may soon be renamed Obama Boulevard" was received positively by residents of the surrounding Crenshaw district.

"I'm so happy, that would be wonderful," said Robbi Work, 60.

A retired former prosecutor, Work was even wearing a shirt emblazoned with the former president's face when she learned of the proposal to rename the road Obama Boulevard.

"They were wonderful, he and Michelle," Work said.

The street, a 31/2-mile residential strip in a predominantly African American community, is flanked on both sides by squat one- and two-story houses and gated communities. The road is also home to Dorsey High School, Baldwin Hills Elementary school and Rancho Cienega Sports Center and Park where Obama held a campaign rally when he was running for president.

"At one point, Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard used to be called Santa Barbara Avenue," said Admee Aguierre, 33, a locker room attendant at the sports center who was present for the rally. "So that will be kind of cool, because Martin Luther King ends right here where the park is and then to have Rodeo called Obama, it's like we have these streets being named after our own."

Los Angeles City Council President Herb Wesson proposed renaming the street on Thursday. There are several other streets named after presidents in the area, including Washington, Jefferson and Adams.

The street would not be the first in the area to be named after the nations first black president, however. In May, a plan to rename a stretch of the 134 Freeway after Obama moved forward with approval from the state Senate. The freeway is near Occidental College, which Obama attended from 1979 to 1981.

Even the youngest residents of the southwest L.A. neighborhood were receptive to Wessons idea.

"Obama! I like that," said 8-year-old Kory Gable. "Then there will be only one Rodeo which is Rodeo [Drive]."

"I think that's a great idea," agreed 10-year-old Golden Wilson. "Because it teaches you the presidents and it can teach you the streets and it'll be easier ..."

"What about Donald Trump Road?" Gable asked.

"No one wants a Donald Trump Road, Wilson responded. Jeez."

Though residents were receptive to having a street named after Obama, they did ask why the president's name couldn't be given to a more significant street.

"Change La Brea, change Sepulveda," said Taylor Strong, 21, a parks and recreation assistant at Rancho Cienega. "Sepulveda is the longest street in California. Change a major, major street. I think he deserves more than Rodeo."

"Obama is something we've never had, and in my lifetime we thought we would never see it," said Walter, a retired gardener who declined to give his last name. "He deserves more than a little bitty street."

"Changing the name here won't change anything because it's already a black neighborhood," agreed Shawn Rahman, a cashier at I Smoke 4 Less smoke shop. "Why not take it to Beverly Hills? Why not change Rodeo Drive to Obama Drive? Because it's a white neighborhood? You're changing the street, you're spending the money, might as well change it there."

sonaiya.kelley@latimes.com

follow me on twitter @sonaiyak

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See the rest here:
Southwest LA loves 'Obama Boulevard' proposal but wonders: 'Why not a major street?' - Los Angeles Times