Just a cold, empirical observation, but every MLK Blvd. in every town I've ever been in that has a street so named, it has invariably acted as a marker for that area's "no go" zones.
Greensboro NC
In the 20's, Lee St, named after the great general, was the finest neighborhood in town. In the 80's, it was renamed to MLK Blvd and it was the worst part of town. All the grand old homes had been converted to apartments.
It was the best of streets, it was the worst of streets. It was less to do with race and more to do with changing views of living close to downtown. Now, downtown is the hot market