Durham Carter to be honored with renamed MLK Park community center

The late Durham Carter, a well-known, long-time community activist in Columbia’s downtown Martin Luther King neighborhood, will be honored with the renaming of a community center at MLK Park.

City Council voted Tuesday to rename MLK Park’s community center the Durham E. Carter Community Center at Martin Luther King Jr. Park.

Carter died Dec. 17 at the age of 88. He was a native of Columbia and an icon among community leaders, working tirelessly for decades to better his neighborhood and the city.

In addition to serving for many years as president of the MLK neighborhood near Five Points, Carter fought to get the city to tear down dilapidated houses in his neighborhood at a faster pace. He spearheaded an effort to establish his neighborhood’s historic preservation overlay. And he helped restructure City Council into a district-based form of government with two at-large representatives as well.

This story was originally published January 11, 2017 at 10:03 AM with the headline "Durham Carter to be honored with renamed MLK Park community center."