Mission to Change Title of Minnesota Lake Named After Slave Supporter

by Ayvaunn Penn, YourBlackWorld.com

Retired computer programmer John Winters filed formal paperwork last week to initiate removing the name of John C. Calhoun from a popular recreational lake in Minnesota. This 65-year-old man believes that the lake should not be named after a South Carolina politician who avidly endorsed slavery. Winters told The Associated Press:

"You find out he was probably the nation’s foremost promoter of slavery in our nation’s history and the foremost promoter of the Civil War… You look him up and you just get outraged."

However, Winters will have to be outraged for nothing less than two more years. According to park board guidelines, one public hearing must be held in six months. A second hearing must take place prior to the board taking a final vote. The latter cannot occur in advance of two years after the filing of the petition. Although this name-change process will take 17,520 hours, Winters feels that it is worth the wait.

Winters suggests that the name of the lake be changed to that of the late Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey – also the former mayor of Minneapolis. As mayor in 1948, Humphrey gave a speech at the Democratic National Convention that motivated the party to add civil rights to its platform. Winters’ suggestion to name the lake after Humphrey seems to be right on target. As the melting pot nation, Humphrey’s name certainly is more appropriate for a recreational lake that is open to people of all colors.

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