By Jonathan Westerfield

Here’s a riddle: What do all MLK streets in the United States have in common? If you answered they were all named after the famed civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., then you are absolutely correct. And the connection to their namesake is essentially the only characteristic shared by all the streets, according to research done by Eric Katzenberger and Nathan Berg, Ph.D.

Katzenberger, a graduate student in economics at the University of North Texas, is co-authoring a study of the nation’s MLK neighborhoods with Berg, associate professor of economics at the University of Texas at Dallas, where Katzenberger earned his bachelor’s degree.  They examined the 730 MLK streets across the country and analyzed the demographic data of median income, household status and other characteristics to extrapolate the trends binding the streets together.

Katzenberger’s initial attraction to the research project stemmed from the perception that MLK-named streets are prone to violence. In several places in the study, he cites funnyman Chris Rock’s comedic routine, in which Rock states African-Americans are “more likely to get shot on a Martin Luther King Boulevard than any other street in the country.” The irony of this observation prompted Katzenberger to explore the reality of MLK neighborhoods himself.

He found that 85 percent of MLK streets are located in the southern United States and that the neighborhoods with MLK streets have “substantially greater concentrations of African-Americans than non-MLK neighborhoods with identical incomes.” On average, these neighborhoods also have a lower household income of around $31,000 compared with the national average of $51,000.

Remarkably, in light of these trends, many MLK neighborhoods have substantial differences from one another, he finds. Hundreds of the streets are located in predominantly white neighborhoods. And the streets vary from an average annual income of less than $3,000 to more than $150,000 a year, according to Berg’s and Katzenberger’s research.

And the perception of danger in the neighborhoods varies vastly as well.

Laura Leskoven, an advertising graduate student here at UT who lives in the MLK neighborhood of Austin, said she “doesn’t necessarily feel unsafe” walking through her neighborhood day or night, while Travis Speegle, a private consultant, elucidates at length about the violence which is endemic to the MLK neighborhood of Los Angeles.

Speegle recently moved out of his apartment in the area and in recounting living there, he reiterates the themes of racial tension and “economic apartheid” that contribute to a “racial tinderbox.” He expressed relief that he never encountered violence personally, “by the grace of God,” but was quick to relate the murder of a USC student who was fatally stabbed by a neighborhood man.

This is in line with Katzenberger’s own findings. The MLK streets of California have as interesting a history as Austin’s own MLK street.

The Austin man responsible for naming 19th Street after Dr. King, J.J. Seabrook, fought passionately against a stalwart city council for the name change. During his last speech before the city council, he suffered a heart attack and died later that day. His death finally persuaded the council to go forth with his proposal.

Today, while some of Austin’s wealthier neighborhoods are located on MLK, with a few households’ average medium incomes reaching nearly $100,000, the street also contains some of the poorest neighborhoods, with average annual incomes of less than $25,000, according to median family income data from the City of Austin. A person living on west MLK street may have a very different perception of the neighborhood than someone living east of I-35, Leskoven suggests.

Even with the variation in MLK neighborhoods, Katzenberger asserts there are clear economic implications to his and Berg’s study.

“Fears and negative stereotypes can lead to individuals not taking advantage of business opportunities that would otherwise prove to be profitable,” he said. “So if people are not taking advantage of these opportunities, it leads to inefficiency within our economy, and economists hate inefficiency. It’s like an honorary four letter word.”

And what about the racial implications? Berg said he believes that “fears and stereotypes hold us back and prevent us from acquiring mutually desired transactions.” Katzenberger reaches a similar conclusion stating, “racial inequality is everywhere. There’s no denying it; Dr. King’s dream certainly hasn’t been accomplished yet. But perhaps we have made a bit of progress towards it.”

Discussion of progress beyond racial stereotypes ignites an eloquent side in Katzenberger as he talks about how he hopes his study will positively effect
economic relations.

“When individuals become more familiar with strangers they lose a lot of unjustified suspicion and treat those individuals more like their neighbors,” he said. “… When you interact with people you see as different that society benefits as a whole.”

He said the perception of a certain amount of violence or a certain economic climate on an MLK street becomes a self-perpetuating myth. If people begin to look past the stereotypes and actually frequent the businesses in MLK neighborhoods, then “everyone will benefit,” Katzenberger said.

And there is hope that stereotypes will one day change. Katzenberger, who describes himself as generally pessimistic, said that in conducting the research about white MLK neighborhoods he sometimes gets “a little twinkle in my eye and thinks maybe it’s not so bad after all.”

The next phase of Katzenberger’s and Berg’s research will delve more deeply into how MLK streets “have developed over the last 20 to 30 years and what the future may hold,” Katzenberger said.

Katzenberger and Berg plan to finish their first paper in the next few months and will submit it for publication in an academic journal.

Perhaps we are all curious as to what Katzenberger’s MLK neighborhood resembled in his hometown of Greenville, Texas. He confided Greenville has a history of poor race relations and never actually had an MLK street. Never, that is, until last year.