the work ahead
1, 440+ American streets
Rename Our Lands prioritizes the southern region of the USA. This focus is attributed to the following information:
- According to the US Census, 36.4 million people, or 12.9 percent of the total American population, report as Black or African American.
- 54% percent of Black Americans (19.7 million) live in the southern region of the USA (Census, 2010).
- 95/96 (99%) of American counties with Black American populations of 50% or more are located in the southern region of the USA (Census, 2010).
- While there are 1,440+ streets named after confederates in the USA, the first visual on this page (Adele Peters, 2017) emphasizes southern states' usage of lands to honor confederates much more frequently than other states.
60+ American Counties & countless other lands (cities, etc)
The second visual provides an overview of 64 US counties in the south that are named in honor of confederates (Stephen Wilkus, 2020).
- It is a widely known fact that countless American lands have been named in honor of racists, slave owners, confederates, and other dishonorable historical persons. Preliminary findings indicate that the majority of such lands are located in the southern region of the USA.
Rename Our Lands researches the existence of each of these locations and supports local efforts to rename them.
- The states in the southern region of the United States have the largest Black American population and have historically used their lands to honor racist, slave owners, and confederates with a higher frequency than other territories in the USA.
- Based on the information shared above, the following states are of high focus: Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Missouri, and Kentucky
Overt racism in the naming of American lands
As of late 2015, hundreds of American lands have racial slurs/epithets within their names. It is important to note that most (if not all) American lands named using the term "Negro," originally used the N-word until a 1960s federal mandate required that "Negro" be leveraged as a replacement.
- Using the N-word or "Negro" to reference Black Americans is offensive and overtly racist.