An artist’s rendering of Jean Baptiste Point du Sable (Public Domain)
After a heated debate, the City of Chicago is one signature away from re-naming Lake Shore Drive after Hatian Explorer and Founder of Chicago Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, John Byrne reports in the Chicago Tribune. Many landmarks throughout the city have been renamed in recent memory, some of which honor the memory and deeds of important Chicagoans where others merely reflect a change in ownership. Byrne writes:
“There’s recent precedent for naming a prominent street to honor an important Black Chicagoan. In 2019, the City Council renamed a stretch of Congress Parkway downtown for crusading African American journalist and anti-lynching activist Ida B. Wells.
Still, Chicagoans cling to tradition, a point that’s been proven time and again. How many locals still refer to the city’s tallest building as the Sears Tower, though it has officially been the Willis Tower since 2009?”
Read more about Point du Sable, Lake Shore Drive, and the politics of renaming in the Chicago Tribune.