Cultural geographer coming to K-State Jan. 19 to discuss naming of public areas to honor Martin Luther King Jr.

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Source: Deborah Che, 785-532-6727, dche@k-state.edu
News release prepared by: Erinn Barcomb-Peterson, 785-532-6415, ebarcomb@k-state.edu

Friday, January 12, 2007

CULTURAL GEOGRAPHER COMING TO K-STATE JAN. 19 TO DISCUSS NAMING OF PUBLIC AREAS TO HONOR MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.

MANHATTAN -- Naming a street after Martin Luther King Jr. has become a popular way to honor the slain civil rights leader.

But it's a practice that can be fraught with controversy, and that's why a cultural geographer set to speak at Kansas State University says it is crucial to advance public understanding of the larger context of naming streets for King, the common issues and struggles that emerge within the naming process, and the various strategies employed by communities honoring King with a street name.

Derek H. Alderman, associate professor of geography at East Carolina University, will present "Naming Streets for Martin Luther King Jr.: A New Geography of Memory in America," at 3:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 19, in Forum Hall at the K-State Student Union. The lecture is part of Martin Luther King Jr. Observance Week at K-State and is sponsored by the geography department and Gamma Theta Upsilon geography honor society.

Alderman, who focuses on the politics of public commemoration and symbolic landscapes, has spent more than a decade studying the naming of streets after King. His research maps and analyzes the emergence of such streets as a new geography of memory in America, and he explores the political issues that make naming a street after King controversial. His work on the subject has been published in several respected regional, national and international academic journals. Alderman also consults with elected officials, public administrators and activists from across the country about the politics of naming streets.

Alderman is the 2002 recipient of the Distinguished University Teaching Achievement Award from the National Council for Geographic Education and the 2005 recipient of the Board of Governors Distinguished Professor of Teaching Award from East Carolina University. He received research honors from the Southeastern Division of the Association of American Geographers and a Five-Year Research Achievement Award from East Carolina University, both in 2006. Alderman earned his doctorate from the University of Georgia.