Two 100-year-old subway stations in Brooklyn now have new co-names: Franklin Avenue-Medgar Evers College and President Street-Medgar Evers College.
The stations have been renamed by an act of the state Legislature that was sponsored late last year by two Brooklyn state legislators, Assemblymember Diana Richardson and State Sen. Zellnor Myrie, and signed late last year by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
The MTA worked closely with officials throughout the process and spent several months updating train, map and station signage to include the new station names. Specifically, that work included updates to 2,490 electronic strip maps that appear on train cars; onboard announcements for 1,245 train cars; 3,174 in-car subway maps; and signs throughout the two stations that cover pillars, exits and entrances.
Medgar Evers College, part of the CUNY system, was founded 50 years ago and was named in honor of Medgar Evers, a civil rights and voting rights activist in Mississippi and a field secretary for the NAACP. In 1963, Evers was assassinated by a white supremacist who was later convicted of his murder.
“As an alumnus of Medgar Evers College and a lifelong resident of the Crown Heights community, this moment fills my heart with so much pride and joy,” said Assemblymember Richardson. “Medgar Evers College, like all of the other CUNY campuses around the city, has impacted our community so much so that it has become a local cultural institution. I am excited to see the community come out to celebrate this well-deserved recognition of the college.”
State Sen. Myrie added, “I’m pleased the MTA is recognizing his life of service and the College’s importance to the Brooklyn community in this way, and encourage everyone to learn more about this civil rights icon and the college that bears his name.”
Evers’ widow Myrlie Evers, who attended the renaming ceremony on Thursday, said, “The family of Medgar Evers is gratified and honored for this recognition of my late husband. It is our hope that the renaming of these stations will inspire and enable people of all ages for generations to come to understand and remember his contributions and sacrifices.”
“This is such an exciting day for us,” said New York City Transit Interim President Sarah Feinberg. “In renaming these stations, we’re not just affixing letters to a sign; we’re honoring a school and a man that have done so much to move this city and this country forward.”
Rudy Crew, the college’s president and former head of the city’s Board of Education, said, “We’ve known for a long time just how vital Medgar Evers College is to the neighborhood and borough, and 50 years after the founding of this special place, we can definitely say we are on the map.”
