A festival celebrating the renaming of a South Los Angeles street in honor of former President Barack Obama is set for Saturday, featuring musical guests Doug E. Fresh, Yo-Yo, BJ the Chicago Kid, Battlecat and Kurrupt.
The Los Angeles City Council unanimously voted last August to rename a 3.5-mile stretch of Rodeo Road as Obama Boulevard.
“I’m thrilled that Los Angeles will be home to Obama Boulevard,” City Council President Herb Wesson said last month. “Our history is important and this is one way that we will ensure that America’s 44th president’s legacy is shared for generations to come for Angelenos and visitors alike.”
The street is in Wesson’s council district and near “president’s row,” a series of streets named after former presidents, which includes Washington Boulevard, Adams Boulevard and Jefferson Boulevard.
“In this moment of political tumult on the national level, it’s important to take stock of the tremendous accomplishment that was Barack Obama’s presidency,” county Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas said. “His ascent to our nation’s highest office represents, in some ways, the fulfillment of Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream.”
When Wesson proposed the name change in 2017, he noted that then-candidate Obama held a campaign rally at Rancho Cienega Recreation Center on Rodeo Road in 2007.
The location of the naming ceremony is where Obama Boulevard will intersect with Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
Free tickets for the festival are available online at obamafest.eventbrite.com, Wesson’s office said.
The festival is scheduled to begin at noon, with the unveiling set for 5 p.m.
The unveiling ceremony is expected to include Wesson, Los Angeles Urban League President Michael Lawson, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, Congresswoman Karen Bass and other leaders.