Push to change racist name of Illinois creek gains traction

DEPUE, Ill. (AP) — Efforts to change the roughly 200-year-old racist name of a creek in northern Illinois are gaining traction. The (Peoria) Journal Star reports that Negro Creek was named after the DePue area’s first Black settler built a cabin at the creek in 1829. Amy Urbanowski, a former area resident, has received support from the Bureau County Board and a local NAACP branch to change the name. She’s sent the information and other details to the U.S. Board on Geographic Names, which approves such changes. Over the years, Urbanowski has heard people also refer to the creek by a racial slur.