Democrats announced their Reconciliation in Place Names Act on Friday, July 16th. This includes over 1000 land structures with “racist names”.
“This is about ending egregious expressions of systemic racism and bigotry, and taking a step toward dismantling white supremacy in our economy and society,” Elizabeth Warren said. “It’s about building an America that lives up to its highest ideals.”
More than 600 places currently use the word “negro”, including “Negro Mountain”, “Big Negro Creek” in Warren, Illinois; “Negro Foot” in Virginia, and “Dead Negro Spring in Oklahoma”. New Mexico is home to “Wetback Tank”. Yellowstone National Park has “Chinaman Spring”, and “Negro Creek” in Wyoming.
“We need to immediately stop honoring the ugly legacy of racism and bigotry, and that’s why I’m introducing the Reconciliation in Place Names Act with my colleagues,” Elizabeth Warren said in a statement. “This is about ending egregious expressions of systemic racism and bigotry, and taking a step toward dismantling white supremacy in our economy and society. It’s about building an America that lives up to its highest ideals,”
While it’s agreed nobody would consider ever using these names in modern society—their existence are reminders to the egregious mistakes our country made. In contrast it makes sense to change the names—as they’ve previously been changed before—and now have become unpopular destinations due to their name. Would you want to tag your location in a photo online taken at Oklahoma’s “Dead Negro Spring”? Neither would we.
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