In 2000, the KKK adopted a stretch of highway near St Louis, the MO government responded by renaming the road the “Rosa Parks Highway.”
When the KKK Adopted a Highway Named After Rosa Parks
Sometimes government officials find the perfect way to make a point without saying a word. In 2000, Missouri pulled off one of the most brilliantly ironic responses in civil rights history.
The Ku Klux Klan had successfully fought for the right to "adopt" a stretch of Interstate 55 near St. Louis through the state's highway cleanup program. After multiple court battles that dragged on for years, they finally won. Missouri couldn't legally refuse them.
So the state renamed the road instead.
The Rosa Parks Highway
The mile-long stretch of I-55 became the "Rosa Parks Highway," honoring the civil rights icon who refused to give up her bus seat in Montgomery, Alabama. Every time KKK members showed up to clean "their" highway, they'd be working under signs bearing the name of one of America's most celebrated Black activists.
The rename wasn't just symbolic shade—it was a masterclass in peaceful resistance. Missouri officials couldn't legally bar the KKK from the Adopt-a-Highway program (First Amendment and all that), but nobody said they couldn't choose which historical figure to honor on those particular road signs.
Plot Twist: They Never Actually Cleaned It
Here's where it gets even better. The KKK never performed a single cleanup. Despite fighting in court from 1994 to 2000 for the right to participate, they abandoned their adopted stretch without doing the actual work. In 2001, Missouri officially dropped them from the program for failing to meet their cleanup obligations.
They'd spent six years and countless legal fees fighting for a highway they never cleaned, all while working under Rosa Parks' name.
Why This Matters
The Rosa Parks Highway response demonstrates something important about dealing with hate groups in public spaces:
- Legal creativity beats censorship - Direct prohibition often fails in court; clever workarounds succeed
- Symbolism has power - The rename sent a clear message about Missouri's values
- Let them expose themselves - The KKK's failure to follow through revealed the emptiness of their publicity stunt
Other states have faced similar situations. When the KKK adopted highways in Georgia and other states, some responded with similar counter-naming strategies. Oregon went a different route, requiring groups to remove logos from signs—effectively making the adoption anonymous and pointless for publicity-seeking organizations.
The Bigger Picture
The incident perfectly captured the absurdist reality of constitutional rights meeting institutional creativity. The KKK had the legal right to participate in a volunteer program. Missouri had the legal right to name its highways after civil rights heroes. Both things could be true simultaneously.
Rosa Parks herself passed away in 2005, but that stretch of I-55 still bears her name today—a permanent reminder that sometimes the best response to hate isn't a fight, but a brilliantly placed road sign.