Kansas City residents vote to remove Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s name from street

Ten months after the City Council in Kansas City, Missouri, voted 8-4 to rename a 10-mile road from The Paseo to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., residents voted to change it back.

Unofficial results from Tuesday's election show 70 percent of voters favored stripping the street of its new name. The road goes through the city's predominantly black East Side, the Kansas City Star reports, and 100 signs will have to be removed. Most major cities have a street named after the late civil rights leader.

The Paseo was designed in the early 1900s, and named after Mexico City's Paseo De La Reforma. Soon after the City Council voted to change the name, the Save the Paseo group was formed, with organizers getting enough signatures to put the issue of restoring the name on the November ballot. Members of the group have swatted down accusations of racism, saying they want to keep The Paseo because it is part of Kansas City history, and they think King should have another street named after him or a monument built in his honor.

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