A California park called "Negro Bar" is to be renamed after years of debate over the racist origins of its name, local authorities announced on Friday.
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Folsom Park, a predominantly white community near the Californian capital Sacramento, was named "Negro Bar" (literally "Negro bar") in reference to the black miners who had been active in the area during the Gold Rush. 'or, in the late 1840s. The park, which features campsites, hiking trails and water activities, is located along a sandbar.
Until the 1920s, residents and even the daily
San Francisco Chronicle
referred to it with an openly racist name.
In a new report, the California Department of Parks has finally decided to change the name of the park, as part of its effort to
"identify and remove offensive place names"
.
In 1999, the same department had voted against the name change, some of its members having apparently been moved by the risk of losing
"recognition of the presence and participation of African Americans in the Gold Rush in California."
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But a petition launched on the Internet four years ago by a meal delivery woman who was offended by discovering the name of Folsom Park had relaunched the procedure.
"I couldn't believe I actually saw a sign that said
'Negro Bar,'" Phaedra Jones wrote.
"Maybe because I prefer not to be called
a 'nigger' these
days"
.
“When I saw this sign, I IMMEDIATELY felt uncomfortable, I started to have a stomach ache (...) I was eager to fall on the first road that led me out of this town
,” she said.
On Friday, two days before the "Juneteenth" holiday that celebrates the emancipation of American slaves, the California Parks Commission voted unanimously to rename the park, she said in a statement to the AFP.
The park will bear the temporary name of “Black Miners Bar”, the time for historians to carry out in-depth research and to receive proposals from the inhabitants.