# Racist names of towns, etc. that still exist **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 16, 2011, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-names-of-towns-etc-that-still-exist/603178 "2011-11-16T22:57:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-names-of-towns-etc-that-still-exist/603178/21 "2011-11-17T05:45:58Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > Did they change the placenames to Namkalb? I no see (c) this. ---
**Author:** ![Jormungandr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@Jormungandr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jormungandr)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-names-of-towns-etc-that-still-exist/603178/22 "2011-11-17T06:00:30Z")
Since you didn’t restrict to only the U.S., there are several cities in Mexico named “Matamoros” or have it as part of their name, which translates as as “Moor Killer.” ---
**Author:** ![mac\_bolan00](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b3f665/32.png) [@mac\_bolan00](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mac_bolan00)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 10:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-names-of-towns-etc-that-still-exist/603178/23 "2011-11-17T10:02:26Z")
why hasn’t anyone mentioned indiana? ooopss… PI, not R. ---
**Author:** ![Hbns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hbns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hbns)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-names-of-towns-etc-that-still-exist/603178/24 "2011-11-17T15:02:55Z")
> [@Xema](#): > > And there is Cecil Adams, devoted to fighting ignorance, who has undertaken to explain the [truth behind the notion that “squaw” has an offensive origin](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2542/is-squaw-an-obscene-insult). Even Cecil knows it was used in a derogatory manner. > [@](#): > > Answer: No. I’m not saying it’s not an insult. It’s just not an obscene insult. The students may have gotten the origin wrong, but they and enough people in the state know it was derogatory that thee state legislature acted to eliminate it. [CHAPTER 53-S.F.No. 574](https://www.revisor.mn.gov/laws/?year=1995&type=0&keyword_type=all&keyword=squaw&doctype=Chapter&id=53) ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Downtown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mr\_Downtown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Downtown)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-names-of-towns-etc-that-still-exist/603178/25 "2011-11-17T15:39:45Z")
^Because state legislatures have **never** been known to pander rather than risk controversy. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-names-of-towns-etc-that-still-exist/603178/26 "2011-11-17T16:13:51Z")
There are various places named “dead indian” and “indian head” which might count. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-names-of-towns-etc-that-still-exist/603178/27 "2011-11-17T16:54:31Z")
Don’t even get me started on Brownsville, TX. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-names-of-towns-etc-that-still-exist/603178/28 "2011-11-17T17:37:01Z")
> [@Hbns](#): > > The students may have gotten the origin wrong, but they and enough people in the state know it was derogatory that thee state legislature acted to eliminate it. For values of “know”, that include “believe”. From the linked column: > [@](#): > > “Documented uses of the word squaw in clearly derogatory senses are in fact hard to find,” writes University of Colorado linguistics expert William Bright in a forthcoming article. When - possibly without basis in historical fact - people decide that a term is derogatory, that becomes the case. “We don’t have to show the term has any offensive context - we only have to show that people claim to be feeling offended.” ---
**Author:** ![SeldomSeen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ba0ec/32.png) [@SeldomSeen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeldomSeen)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-names-of-towns-etc-that-still-exist/603178/29 "2011-11-17T18:35:04Z")
A little place not far from here was known since pioneer times as Basco Station. It was in fact started as a rest stop on a major stage route, owned & operated by Basque immigrants (the region has the largest population of Basques outside of Euskal Herria). I had never considered “Basco” a derogatory term any more than, say, “Phillipino” nor did any Basques of my acquaintance seem bothered by it. Apparently somebody was bothered…both the USGS and the state officially changed the name to [Basque, OR](http://oregon.hometownlocator.com/or/malheur/basque.cfm) in the interests of political correctness. It doesn’t have the same ring to it, and the historical context is gone. PC run amok? SS ---
**Author:** ![Hbns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hbns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hbns)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-names-of-towns-etc-that-still-exist/603178/30 "2011-11-17T18:46:29Z")
**Xema** you have lost me. Misinformed belief in the origins has little to do with how it is used in everyday vernacular. When a Caucasian in that region says “lookit that squaw” or “where’s yer squaw?” it isn’t with endearment. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-names-of-towns-etc-that-still-exist/603178/31 "2011-11-17T18:49:43Z")
I’m Basque (well, depending on which definition you use) and that’s got to be one of the dumbest pieces of PC dumbness I’ve ever heard. The spelling is funky, but since it’s likely to get anglos to pronounce _vasco_ properly, it works for me. I’d rate it as about par with that little old lady who berated two non-English-speaking girls on a Miami bus for speaking about _un vestido negro_ (a black dress). The poor lasses apologized until they looked like they were about to grow hunched backs, yet neither one had the slightest idea what had they done to offend. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-names-of-towns-etc-that-still-exist/603178/32 "2011-11-17T19:01:09Z")
> [@Hbns](#): > > When a Caucasian in that region says “lookit that squaw” or “where’s yer squaw?” it isn’t with endearment. To clarify - you believe this sort of statement is common, but that will change if placenames are changed? ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-names-of-towns-etc-that-still-exist/603178/33 "2011-11-17T19:20:15Z")
I will neve forget doing a real estate comparable search and finding out that Redneck Avenue runs through Moonachie and Little Ferry, New Jersey. I so want to live there ---
**Author:** ![Hbns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hbns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hbns)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-names-of-towns-etc-that-still-exist/603178/34 "2011-11-17T19:29:28Z")
> [@Xema](#): > > To clarify - you believe this sort of statement is common, but that will change if placenames are changed? I know from experience that they are not uncommon in that region. The OP asked for “Racist names of towns, etc. that still exist”. I linked the town and the article showing it to exist despite state legislation to eliminate use of the word squaw. If you wish to argue whether squaw is truly derogatory or not, or argue that the Minnesota legislature was misguided I invite you to open a thread in GD. I’d be happy to participate. Though we will probably find me in agreement on more points than you believe. ---
**Author:** ![Hbns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hbns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hbns)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-names-of-towns-etc-that-still-exist/603178/35 "2011-11-17T19:31:19Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > I will neve forget doing a real estate comparable search and finding out that Redneck Avenue runs through Moonachie and Little Ferry, New Jersey. > > I so want to live there If that doesn’t work out, you could move to [Stoner Avenue](http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/statewide/archive/2011/09/bemidjis-stoner-avenue-gets-reprieve.shtml) in Bemidji, Minnesota. 😉 Remember to pronounce it Bur-midge-ee to blend in. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-names-of-towns-etc-that-still-exist/603178/36 "2011-11-17T19:39:43Z")
> [@Hbns](#): > > If that doesn’t work out, you could move to [Stoner Avenue](http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/statewide/archive/2011/09/bemidjis-stoner-avenue-gets-reprieve.shtml) in Bemidji, Minnesota. 😉 > > Remember to pronounce it Bur-midge-ee to blend in. Blend in? Shit, I lived there from 1975-1978. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-names-of-towns-etc-that-still-exist/603178/37 "2011-11-17T19:47:43Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Don’t even get me started on Brownsville, TX. Why? Do you have something against white people? The town, then Fort, was named after Major Jacob Brown who died in a battle near by. ---
**Author:** ![Hbns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hbns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hbns)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-names-of-towns-etc-that-still-exist/603178/38 "2011-11-17T19:48:02Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Blend in? Shit, I lived there from 1975-1978. hahahahaha :smack::o ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-names-of-towns-etc-that-still-exist/603178/39 "2011-11-17T19:56:28Z")
> [@Mr\_Downtown](#): > > The US Board on Geographic Names [has a policy on this matter:](http://geonames.usgs.gov/docs/pro_pol_pro.pdf) (PDF) > > POLICY V: DEROGATORY NAMES > > The guiding principle of the U.S. Board on Geographic Names for the names of places, features, > and areas in the United States and its territories is to adopt for official Federal use the names > found in present-day local usage. An exception to this principle occurs when a name is shown to > be highly offensive or derogatory to a particular racial or ethnic group, gender, or religious > group. In such instances, the Board does not approve use of the names for Federal maps, charts, > and other publications. > > The Board, however, is conservative in this matter and prefers to interfere as little as possible > within the use of names in everyday language because attitudes and perceptions of words > considered to be pejorative vary between individuals and can change connotation from one > generation to another. Geographic names are part of the historical record of the United States, > and that record may be either distorted or disrupted by the elimination of names associated with > particular groups of Americans. Such unwarranted action by the Board could, in time, be a > disservice to the people the process is meant to protect. What is the practical effect of this? Does the town name actually change or is it just referred to differently on maps? For example, if a town in Nebraska is called Canuckville and the feds demand that it be changed to Canadianville, does Nebraska have to put up new street signs? Can the state print their own maps with the offensive name? If I post a letter to Canuckville, will it be returned as undeliverable? ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-names-of-towns-etc-that-still-exist/603178/40 "2011-11-17T20:41:57Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > Why? Do you have something against white people? The town, then Fort, was named after Major Jacob Brown who died in a battle near by. [foghorn leghorn]It was a joke, son: you were supposed to laugh.[/fl] [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-names-of-towns-etc-that-still-exist/603178.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-names-of-towns-etc-that-still-exist/603178.md?page=3)