A petition with the goal of renaming a San Jose roadway after former President Barack Obama is starting to gain some traction.

Alex Shoor is helping to orchestrate the name change effort in hopes of celebrating the 44th president's legacy and inspiring the next generation of leaders.

"Now maybe more people in this country can truly believe that anyone can be president, and we want that hope to live on," Shoor said. "We want that hope to live on across the country and we want that hope to live on here in San Jose."

Almaden Boulevard in the heart of downtown San Jose is one of the roadways that could be swapped for the former commander in chief's name. That's because four streets in the South Bay city already feature the word "Almaden" in some capacity.



Actually swapping a street name takes time, public input, 1,000 support signatures and about $7,000 to cover the application for the name change.

Supporters of the movement hope the public pitches in to help, saying the effort does not represent a political showing but is more of a testament to history.

"He was a U.S. president," Marissa Harris said. "Plenty of boulevards named after U.S. presidents, so why not him?"

At least 10 roadways across the country and one in Tanzania already feature Obama's name.

The campaign is accepting donations on the African-American Community Service Agency website.