Tupac Shakur Way: Oakland names street after rapper, 27 years after his death
ByJessica Goodman, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
Tupac Shakur Rapper Tupac Shakur poses for photos backstage after his performance at the Regal Theater in Chicago in March 1994. (Raymond Boyd/Getty Images)
(Raymond Boyd/Getty Images)
ByJessica Goodman, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
OAKLAND, Calif. — A street in Oakland, California, was renamed after Tupac Shakur nearly three decades after he was killed.
The street is part of the remaining portion of MacArthur Boulevard by Van Buren and Grand avenues, according to KNTV. The street name is now Tupac Shakur Way, The Associated Press reported.
The new street name was unveiled during a ceremony Friday, according to the news station. Family, friends and fans attended the ceremony. MC Hammer, an Oakland native, also attended the ceremony, according to the AP.
“It’s a moment that I know my brother would be proud of,” Shakur’s sister Sekyiwa “Set” Shakur said, according to KNTV. “Establishing love and peace in the Oakland community especially mattered to him. Being able to represent safety to his people mattered to him.”
“Let his spirit live on the rest of these years in these streets and in your hearts,” Sekyiwa Shakur told the crowd during the ceremony, according to the AP.
The street name is now Tupac Shakur Way, the AP reported.
The Oakland City Council voted unanimously to rename the road earlier this year, KNTV reported. It was an effort that Councilmember Caroll Fife started.
“The same things that made who Tupac was, what he was fighting for and trying to lift up through his music is what we are fighting for today,” Fife said.
“He loved this place. He loved Oakland,” rapper Richey Rich Double R said, according to KNTV.
“He’s a leader, he’s an innovator, his duality, his fight for the people,” radio personality Sway Calloway said. “He stood 10 toes down, and the fight that he fought for us resonated all around the globe.”
“He spoke up for our people, for our culture,” rapper E-40 added, according to KNTV. “He is the greatest rapper to ever did it, man. He did so much in so little time.”
Shakur died on Sept. 13, 1996, six days he was shot. He was 25 years old. Over the summer, one of the alleged suspects was arrested in connection with his murder.
Davis is accused of plotting the drive-by shooting that led to Shakur’s death.
Duane “Keefe D” Davis pleaded not guilty last Thursday, according to the AP.
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Remembering Tupac Flavor Flav, standing with rapper Tupac Shakur, greets fans backstage during the 1989 American Music Awards, Los Angeles, California, January 30, 1989. (Photo by Clarence Gatson/Gado/Getty Images) (Clarence Gatson/Gado/Getty Images)
Remembering Tupac Rosie Perez and Tupac Shakur (Photo by Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images) (Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty)
Remembering Tupac NEW YORK - JULY 23: Rappers Chuck D of Public Enemy and Tupac Shakur pose for a portrait at Club Amazon on July 23, 1993 in New York, New York. (Photo by Al Pereira/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images) (Al Pereira)
Remembering Tupac NEW YORK - JULY 23: Rapper Tupac Shakur performs onstage at Club Amazon on July 23, 1993 in New York, New York. (Photo by Al Pereira/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images) (Al Pereira)
Tupac Shakur FILE PHOTO: Rapper Tupac Shakur poses for photos backstage after his performance at the Regal Theater in Chicago, Illinois in March 1994. (Photo By Raymond Boyd/Getty Images) (Raymond Boyd/Getty Images)
Remembering Tupac NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 25: American rapper, songwriter, and actor (1971-1996) Tupac Shakur poses for a portrait during the 1994 Source Awards on April 25, 1994 at the Paramount Theatre in New York, New York. (Photo by Bob Berg/Getty Images) (Bob Berg/Getty Images)
Tupac Shakur FILE PHOTO: Rapper Tupac Shakur performs at the Mecca Arena in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in September 1994. (Photo By Raymond Boyd/Getty Images) (Raymond Boyd/Getty Images)
Remembering Tupac MILWAUKEE - SEPTEMBER 1994: Rapper Tupac Shakur performs at the Mecca Arena in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in September 1994. (Photo By Raymond Boyd/Getty Images)
(Raymond Boyd/Getty Images)
Remembering Tupac Tupac Shakur during Party For Cowboy Noir Thriller "Red Rock West" at Club USA in New York City, New York, United States. (Photo by Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images) (Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty)
Remembering Tupac Tupac Shakur (Photo by Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images) (Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty)
Remembering Tupac View of American rapper and actor Tupac Shakur (also known as 2Pac, 1971 - 1996) and actress Jada Pinkett Smith as they pose together at a movie premiere, New York, New York, 1996. (Photo by Gene Shaw/Getty Images) (Gene Shaw/Getty Images)
Remembering Tupac Tupac Shakur and Marion Suge Knight (Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic) (Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic)
Remembering Tupac Tupac Shakur and James Belushi in a scene from the film 'Criminal Intent', 1997. (Photo by Orion/Getty Images) (Archive Photos/Getty Images)
Remembering Tupac Tupac Shakur in a scene from the film 'Gridlock'd', 1997. (Photo by Gramercy Pictures/Getty Images) (Archive Photos/Getty Images)
Remembering Tupac UNITED STATES - SEPTEMBER 14: Daily News front page headline Sept. 14, 1996, Tupac Shakur dies of gunshot wounds, RAP REQUIEM (Photo by NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images) (New York Daily News Archive/NY Daily News via Getty Images)
