DENVER — The Colorado Geographic Naming Advisory Board will meet Thursday to discuss renaming six places in the state, some of which have names that are considered offensive and derogatory to people of color.
The names the board will consider changing are: Negro Creek in Delta County, Negro Mesa in Delta County, Unnamed feature in Jefferson County, Chinaman Gulch in Chaffee County, Redskin Mountain in Jefferson County, and Calkins Lake in Weld County.
Metropolitan State University Associate History Professor Shelby Balik said many terms that feature in current names have always been considered offensive, such as the name attached to the mountain in Jefferson County, the gulch named after people of Asian descent, and the mountain pertaining to Native Americans.
“Those names have demeaning connotations… The names are dated and insulting,” Balik said. “I think that a wide range of events over the last several years have called us to reevaluate our history and reevaluate the way we remember, like with names and statues.”
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