Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities

Reporter's notebook: How Clovis got its own MLK Blvd

With the holiday for the Reverend from Atlanta tomorrow comes an opportunity to reflect on many things, not the least of which is the truth that our world is not a static panorama but an ever-shifting terrain of political and social realities effected by the work of both individuals and organized masses.

The younger folks in Clovis might not recall a time when Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard was called Thomas Street, and perhaps the older types wouldn’t think often of the name change presently; such is the nature of a collective memory.

Some digging through commission minutes, facilitated by City Clerk LeighAnn Melancon, reveals the name change was approved by divided vote in the Clovis City Commission’s Dec. 12, 1997 meeting, pending an 18-month transition period during which the street held both names.

During the discussion, a “Commissioner Trujillo stated that Martin Luther King has become a street name in all the larger cities and maybe it was time that Clovis came forward and named a street also.”

The record shows Commissioner Mario Trujillo was one of three to vote in the negative, but only because “he would like to give the people it would affect the opportunity to attend the meeting.”

— Compiled by Staff Writer David Grieder