The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously on Wednesday to rename a street that runs through southwest Los Angeles after former President Barack Obama. As luck would have it, the street runs parallel to Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, another hood classic.
Rodeo Road is a 3.5 mile stretch of road that runs from the eastern Culver City border, crosses over Crenshaw Blvd to traverse through Leimert Park, the famous black arts district, and comes to an end at Arlington Avenue. The motion was proposed by city council president Herb Wesson, who introduced Obama at his first campaign rally in Los Angeles nine years ago at Rancho Cienega Park (Dorsey Park to the locals), which is located on Rodeo Road.
Rodeo is often confused with the more upscale Rodeo Drive, which is located in Beverly Hills. The litmus test that separates the natives from the outsiders or tourists is the way the street names are pronounced. In Beverly Hills, it’s ‘Roh-Day‑O,’ and in the hood, it’s ‘Roh-Dee-Oh.’
A plan is also in place to name a stretch of the 134 freeway after Obama as well.
See y’all on the corner of Crenshaw and Obama Boulevards. http://www.theroot.com/los-angeles-city-council-votes-unanimously-to-name-stre-1796535889