The Muncie City Council voted 7-2 that Broadway will not become Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
Approximately 300 people gathered at the Muncie City Council meeting Monday night, most of whom are African American.
Most of the audience members that spoke said they live near or on Broadway and came to share their feelings on changing the name.
Leading up to the final decision of changing the street name, audience members shared stories of King's dream and what an inspiration it would be to see his name on the street.
"It's time for Muncie to do something to draw us together," Pastor Edward Long said. "That's what Martin Luther King did."
Council members Monte Murphy and William Shroyer voted in favor after the decision to change the name was denied by a seven-to-two vote. Patricia Mitchell Fields, president of the Muncie chapter of the NAACP, said that most people were not surprised by the decision and were ready to find a new plan of action.
"What the city council has done in some ways has made it political. Some who voted 'no' feared for reelection, and some just don't care about the community," Fields said.
Minister Randy Seals said the decision was an injustice.
"Our country had a narrow view and Martin Luther King was trying to broaden that view," Seals said.
Business owners on Broadway expressed worry that the name change would create difficulty in changing addresses for a company.
Janis Wagner, a business owner on Broadway, moved her business 20 months ago and said she is still having problems receiving her mail.
The council added an amendment before its final vote, which pushed the date back to Jan. 1, 2005, to help business owners.
"At this day and age with computers and everything we have now, how hard could it be to change stationary and mailing?" Fields said.
Members of the NAACP, the Concerned Clergy and the Whiteley Neighborhood Council said they will not give up on honoring Martin Luther King Jr.
"We will still fight as Martin Luther King had with non-violence," Fields said.
Seals said some members of the community have spoken of possibly marching.
Throughout the meeting, council members and concerned business owners on Broadway brought up alternative ways to honor Martin Luther King Jr. One idea was to change the name of McCulloch park to Martin Luther King Jr. Park.
"I don't think Mr. McCulloch and his family would appreciate it," Seals said. "Mr. McCulloch did a lot of great things for the city of Muncie."
George McCulloch was an industrialist and newspaper founder and is said to be one of the first citizens of Muncie, according to the Ball State Web site.
Pastor Edward Long of the Concerned Clergy said that as of now what will be done is up in the air and the group will meet on how to develop a new plan of action that will be done in a reasonable and rational way.
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