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Utah's 'Negro Bill Canyon' renamed after years of debate [now Grandstaff Canyon]
Associated Press ^ | Oct 12, 2017 6:51 PM EDT

Posted on 10/12/2017 6:43:36 PM PDT by Olog-hai

After years of debate, a U.S. government board has voted to rename Utah’s Negro Bill Canyon, overruling a recommendation by Utah officials to keep the name.

The U.S. Board on Geographic Names decided Thursday to rename it Grandstaff Canyon to get rid of an offensive name, The Salt Lake Tribune reports. The vote was 12-0, with one member declining to vote. The decision comes 16 years after the board voted to keep the name.

The new name honors black rancher and prospector William Grandstaff, whose cattle grazed there in the 1870s. “His name was Grandstaff; it was not Negro Bill,” said Wendi-Starr Brown, a member of the federal board who is Native American. “I’m pretty sure that’s not how he wanted to be addressed in life.” Brown is a member of the Narragansett Indian Tribe, who represents the Bureau of Indian Affairs on the federal board. […]

The NAACP said the name is not offensive and preserves the history of the site, while the Utah Martin Luther King Jr. Commission called the name “blatant racism.”

The canyon is home to a popular hiking spot in Moab, the gateway to stunning, massive red rock formations. Local officials and business owners have long said the name generates frequent complaints and outcry from tourists who come from around the world, lured by the red-rock landscapes in nearby national parks. …

(Excerpt) Read more at hosted.ap.org ...


TOPICS: History; Local News; Outdoors; Society; Travel
KEYWORDS: biggovernment; federalgovernment; grandstaffcanyon; grandstafftrailhead; liberalagenda; moab; negro; negrobillcanyon; negrobilltrailhead; utah
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To: doorgunner69

LOL! I learned a new word. Apparently it’s slightly different in different parts of South and Central America:

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cabrón


61 posted on 10/12/2017 8:54:24 PM PDT by Jamestown1630 ("A Republic, if you can keep it.")
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To: Olog-hai
Image and video hosting by TinyPic
62 posted on 10/12/2017 9:01:19 PM PDT by tumblindice (America's founding fathers: all armed conservatives)
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To: beaversmom
"The Canyon was named after William Granstaff, an American cowboy of mixed race. He claimed it in 1877 to prospect for valuable ores and to serve as a homestead as he raised a modest herd of cattle. His business partner was a Canadian trapper known only as -- Frenchie. Mr. Granstaff was forced to flee the Moab area in 1881 when he was accused of a serious crime -- that of providing bootlegged alcohol to Native Americans in the region. His guilt or innocence in the matter was never determined. Nevertheless, Mr. Granstaff lost his home and virtually all of his belongings due to the accusation. But worst of all -- he lost his beautiful Canyon. In post-Civil War America, Mr. Granstaff 's conclusion that his racial heritage would place him at a significant legal disadvantage was not unreasonable in the least. Thus, he left Moab."

http://www.negrobillcanyon.com/the-story-of-negro-bill.html


63 posted on 10/12/2017 9:05:53 PM PDT by Mr Rogers (Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools)
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To: Olog-hai
It's Granstaff, not Grandstaff.

According to the Wikipedia, the canyon was renamed once before, in the 1960s.

64 posted on 10/12/2017 9:25:21 PM PDT by cynwoody
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To: cynwoody

Oh well; I’m not too motivated to correct AP.


65 posted on 10/12/2017 9:34:13 PM PDT by Olog-hai ("No Republican, no matter how liberal, is going to woo a Democratic vote." -- Ronald Reagan, 1960)
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To: dainbramaged

There are/were several location names that were very offensive to Afro-Americans/black Americans/Negroes in the U.S.

The one I thought was particularly offensive was “Nigger Slough”, a long body of water in California near oil wells and/or chemical facilities that polluted the land and nearby waters. It was used to describe the terrible pollution in it, i.e. the color of the water, but it was still degrading. Don’t know if it was ever changed though I have feeling it was.

I see nothing wrong in changing a blatantly offensive geographic name but locals should have some input if it concerns private lands.

Sometimes things should be changed; other times, left alone.

I’m Jewish and I’m not offended by the Jew Fish. After all, fish played a major role in Jewish/Hebrew and Christian history and religion. We have bigger “fish” (i.e. extremist and Moslem anti-Semitism) to fry.

And leave the MONK fish alone too.

However, I would like to rename the Puffer/Blowfish to honor Michael Moore, which it looks identical to. After all, that’s probably the only thing that will ever be named after Moore other than when someone says “That’s butt ugly like Michael Moore:.


66 posted on 10/12/2017 9:39:31 PM PDT by MadMax, the Grinning Reaper
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To: Olog-hai

The BGN changed a lot of offensive place names in the 60s and 70s. I’m guessing “Negro Bill” was one that was changed back then.


67 posted on 10/12/2017 9:41:12 PM PDT by Ken Regis
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To: Olog-hai
Actually, it seems Grandstaff is correct after all. The Park service screwed up the name of the campground.

From a 2015 article:

Moab resident Louis[e] Williams, who has researched the life of William Granstaff, says her study shows he never went by the moniker 'Bill', and likely also spelled his surname with a 'd' after the 'n'.

She is calling for the landmark to be renamed Grandstaff Canyon, as she believes this would be the most historically accurate version.

Speaking about the current name, she added: 'I don't know anybody who would die and want their name to be left like that.'


68 posted on 10/12/2017 9:52:16 PM PDT by cynwoody
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To: beaversmom
I’ve driven past Negro Bill many times when heading down to Moab. Grandstaff sounds too bland, IMO. Everything has to be sanitized and without character. :(

The NAACP agrees with you. According to Fox 13:

Jeanetta Williams, President of the Salt Lake City Chapter of the NAACP, issued a statement Thursday saying they are disappointed with the change and that they hope steps will be taken to preserve the history of the canyon and the man it was named for.

“The NAACP received word this morning that the US Board of Geographic Names changed the name of Negro bill canyon to grand staff canyon. Of course, we are disappointed, because our intent is to let people know that Negro is not an offensive word like some people were saying. What the NAACP want to make sure is that the history of the Negro bill canyon is not lost. The NAACP would like to make sure that literature is provided to visitors that come into the canyon area, as well as the state of Utah about the history of Negro bill canyon.”​


69 posted on 10/12/2017 10:00:01 PM PDT by cynwoody
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To: Olog-hai
The canyon was named after William Grandstaff, a mixed-race cowboy, who prospected and ran cattle in the desert canyon in the late 1870s with a Canadian trapper named "Frenchie".

I guess the compromise, "Let's Call it Mulatto Bill" legislation didn't pass ...

70 posted on 10/12/2017 10:09:17 PM PDT by x
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To: Jamestown1630
I learned it from my Mexican heritage co-workers. They were a very corrupting influence on my knowledge of Spanish.

But then, I was ripe for corrupting.

71 posted on 10/12/2017 10:15:41 PM PDT by doorgunner69
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To: tumblindice

Oh, that’s rich. ROFL


72 posted on 10/12/2017 10:40:33 PM PDT by sparklite2 (I'm less interested in the rights I have than the liberties I can take.)
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To: Olog-hai

They could combine it with Hollywood and call it “GrabMyStaff Canyon”.


73 posted on 10/12/2017 11:44:34 PM PDT by taxesareforever (Islam is an ideology. It is NOT a religion.)
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To: Olog-hai

Why not honor Civil Rights marcher John Lewis and name it Negro John Canyon ?


74 posted on 10/12/2017 11:52:23 PM PDT by libh8er
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To: taxesareforever

Much as I dislike giving so much as an inch to political correctness, I think Grandstaff Canyon sounds OK.


75 posted on 10/12/2017 11:53:37 PM PDT by Nothingburger
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To: 21twelve

Actually, there is little to no evidence that Bass Reeves was any kind of inspiration for the Lone Ranger.

http://martingrams.blogspot.com/2015/04/myth-debunked-bass-reeves-was-not-lone.html

I would also doubt that “most cowboys” of the old west were black, though a good number were.


76 posted on 10/13/2017 2:59:21 AM PDT by SoCal Pubbie
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To: doorgunner69

You suspicions are correct.


77 posted on 10/13/2017 3:04:33 AM PDT by mad_as_he$$ (Not my circus. Not my monkeys.)
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To: bigdaddy45

Richard Pryor and Michael Jackson led a movement to rename it “Ignited Negro College Fund”.


78 posted on 10/13/2017 5:41:41 AM PDT by VietVet876
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To: beaversmom

Just brought it up on MAPS! I used to swim in that canyon in 1955!


79 posted on 10/13/2017 7:22:21 AM PDT by Ruy Dias de Bivar
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To: 21twelve

I was just reading “The Nigger of the Narcissus” by J. Conrad surprised it hasn’t been banned yet.


80 posted on 10/13/2017 7:32:45 AM PDT by ABN 505 (Right is right if nobody is right, and wrong is wrong if everybody is wrong. ~Archbishop Fulton John)
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