RES 2023-0419 - Vivian Strong Commemorative Street Name City Clerk Office Use Only:
RESOLUTION NO. Z, `� Al Publication Date (if applicable):
c?
Agenda Date: ZC., '�
Department: f"9l1`t1 e/f
Submitter:
CITY OF OMAHA
LEGISLATIVE CHAMBER
Omaha, Nebraska
RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF OMAHA:
WHEREAS, it has been determined that it is in the best interest of the City of
Omaha to provide for commemorative street names; and,
WHEREAS, a nomination has been submitted for the designation of "Vivian
Strong Street" as a commemorative street name on 21st Street from Clark Street to Paul Street;
and,
WHEREAS, Vivian Strong was tragically killed in June of 1969 on North 21st
Street in an officer-involved shooting. Her death sparked multiple days of riots throughout
North Omaha. This commemorative designation would honor Strong while also
memorializing a significant event in Omaha's History.
WHEREAS, the Planning Director and the City Councilmember representing the
district in which the item proposed is located have recommended that said permit be granted
pursuant to the application, a copy of which is attached hereto as Exhibit "A" and made a part
hereof by this reference.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
OMAHA:
THAT, that the nomination of "Vivian Strong Street" as a commemorative street
name on 21st Street from Clark Street to Paul Street is hereby approved; and the Public Works
Department is authorized to erect the acceptable sign(s) therefore, in compliance with all
applicable local and state statutes, ordinances or regulations, and policies with all costs to be
borne by the applicant.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
L3/36/L J Z,s
CIl ATTORNEY DATE
RESOLUTION NO. 2L2 04)1
+/
PAGE c (Adopted: PR 18 2023 1 -0
Attest:
City CI
Approved:
Mayor
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INTER-OFFICE COMMUNICATION
March 22, 2023
TO: President and Members of the City Council
FROM: David K. Fanslau, Planning Dir cttorwr
SUBJECT: Commemorative Street Designation of"Vivian Strong Street"
Based on my review and on the criteria for Commemorative Designations in Chapter 27 of the
Omaha Municipal Code, it is my recommendation that the commemorative street name of
"Vivian Strong Street" be applied to 21st Street from Clark Street to Paul Street.
Vivian Strong was tragically killed in June of 1969 on North 21st Street in an officer-involved
shooting. Her death sparked multiple days of riots throughout North Omaha. This
commemorative designation would honor Strong while also memorializing a significant event in
Omaha's History.
INTER-OFFICE COMMUNICATION
March 22, 2023
TO: David K. Fanslau, Planning Director
FROM: Juanita Johnson, Councilmember
SUBJECT: "Vivian Strong Street" Commemorative Street Name Request
As the Councilmember representing Council District 2, I support the application for the
commemorative street name on 21st Street from Clark Street to Paul Street to be called "Vivian
Strong Street."
cc: Councilmembers
Elizabeth Butler, City Clerk --�
Omaha City Planning Department For Office Use Only
Date Filed
APPLICATION Fee $ 1O
Receipt# Pe c'(
PUBLIC PROPERTY NAMING/RENAMING Case#
Feature to be Named:
Ii, I Street n Park n Library n Other
Check following box if application is a Commemorative Naming ri
Applicant Carol Larry 317 Teal Ridge Hills Henderson NV 89014 702-340-9314
Name Address Zip Phone#
carollarry85@gmail.com
E-Mail Address
Location/Property Address N. 21 st Street from Clark Street to Paul Street
Proposed Name to be Assigned Vivian Strong
Description and Significance: Please provide as thorough a description as possible and explain why it
is appropriate to name this feature in this way. The proposed naming/renaming should address the
applicable criteria as defined in Section 27-150 through Section 27-154 — Naming of Public Property.
Additional pages or supplemental materials may be attached as necessary.
The siblings of Vivian Strong would like to honor her by renaming the street where her life was taken from us on June 24, 1969.
The loss of her beautiful spirit at such a young age was a devastating tragedy for our family that we must live with forever.
The commemorative street renaming will be a reminder to the city that Vivian's death is a part of Omaha history forever changed the growth
and structure of the Black community. Also, the street renaming illustrates the development
and betterment in the same area since her death. Thank you for your consideration.
FILING FEE: $1,000. — Public Property Naming/Renaming
$100. —Commemorative Naming/Renaming
If this application is for the renaming of a public street, a petition must be included that is signed by at
least 60 percent of the number of owners of properties abutting the portion of the street to be renamed.
Such petition forms can be picked up at the City of Omaha Planning Department.
If this application is for a commemorative designation and the request is approved by the City Council,
the applicant shall contact the appropriate City department to determine the number of signs needed
and the cost to the applicant to make and install them.
+ January 30, 2023
icant a re Date
Q KTNE Alliance FM 91.1 at reduced power Donate
Oil Nebraska ()PBS n pr (�
ow Public Media —
< News
Remembering Vivian Strong
By Robyn Wisch June 19, 2009, 7 a.m. • 4 min read
Forty years ago, a 14-year-old black girl was shot and killed by a white police officer in Omaha. Her
death caused Omaha's Northeast neighborhood to erupt into violent riots. Now, for the first time in
40 years, her sister agreed to an interview.
In the hot summer of 1969 when Vivian Strong was killed, it was the height of the civil rights movement
and racial tension hung thick over the city. But for Vivian Strong and her sister Carol, now Carol Larry, the
years leading up to her death in the Near North Side neighborhood were carefree and fun.
"There were kids, neighborhood kids that you played with every day," Larry recalled during a recent visit
to her hometown. "It was a time in my life that I enjoyed, I loved, and I used to think 'Boy, I never want to
grow up, I always want to stay a kid."
But that innocence ended on June 24, 1969 when Larry was 13. A neighborhood kid told her about a party
in a vacant apartment in the Logan Fontenelle Housing Projects where they lived. She knew they could
get into trouble and steered clear, but her 14-year-old sister went anyway. "I know some of the kids had
gone into the empty apartment, and they were playing music," Larry said. "They were just dancing."
Police showed up saying they'd been called on suspicion of a robbery, so Larry went to check on her
sister. She stuck her head in the door and told the party the police were there. Immediately, everybody
took off running to the back door. "But actually, all she had to do was step out the door with me," Larry
said. "Because all I did was I just stepped back out the door."
Soon after, Larry heard what sounded like fire crackers, and then a crowd of people gathered around
something on the ground. Small as she was, she made her way through the crowd and looked down. It
took her a moment, she said, before she recognized her sister's skirt and blouse. Vivian had been shot in
the back of the head by one of the police officers.
"He didn't have to shoot," Larry said. "There were tons of kids out there. How do you decide to shoot
when you've got kids running outside? She hadn't stolen anything. She was running because somebody
said, /said the police is here."
"When I got the call, [I felt] this immediate rage," said Dan Goodwin, owner of Goodwin's Barber Shop, a
fixture of North Omaha for over 50 years. Goodwin said rage immediately erupted in the neighborhood.
People took to the streets and a three-day riot began. Shops were burned to the ground, including those
lining the street where his barber shop stands today.
"The real target really was Caucasian establishments," Goodwin said, "but most everything was owned by
Caucasians. So, it wasn't a case — people were very angry, they were very angry, it was as simple as that."
Fires raged over at least a nine-block area. Grocery stores were burned, even a local candy store, one of
Vivian and her sister's favorites. Larry said she never understood why the community rioted. They could
have protested or marched, she said, but the riots destroyed their own neighborhood.
The riots only continued though when news broke that the police officer involved, James Loder, was
released from jail on a $500 bond. Goodwin said the community's anger had been building and this
incident brought it to a head. They felt Vivian's death was totally unjustified.
According to news reports, the police say they were called in to investigate a burglary; they apprehended
a young man, and a crowd of"Negroes" gathered. Papers reported witnesses saying Loder fired at
Strong for no apparent reason. But he was ultimately found innocent at trial and was reinstated by the
city as a police officer where he remained until 1971. Forty years later, Larry finds that the hardest part to
deal with.
"He meant to kill her," she said. "He wasn't shooting to wound. When you shoot somebody in the head,
you're shooting to kill them."
"Why? See, there's no reason why," she said. "And why the city let him off, no reason, no explanation
whatsoever."
James Loder did not want to comment for the story. But in a phone conversation with his wife, she said
this incident has deeply impacted her family, and, overcome with emotion, said she wishes it would be
put to rest. No police officers from the time are still working at the Omaha Police Department, but Chief
Eric Buske said any time someone as young as Vivian is killed, it's a tragedy.
Larry said her mother had a nervous breakdown after Vivian's death and began drinking heavily. For her
part, she said she had to take care of her younger brothers and learn to be strong.
"We never got any counseling for it," she said, "I saw my sister laying on the ground dead. I went to the
funeral. I mean it was hard, and there was no counseling back then to help kids get through things. I was
a teenager."
In some ways, the neighborhood has never recovered. The buildings, which once surrounded Goodwin's
barber shop, were never rebuilt. And North Omaha has never again experienced that same bustle of
thriving local businesses.
Larry said the destruction only amplified the unnecessary violence of her sister's death. The
neighborhood, and Larry, were both forever changed.
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