New Brunswick government asked to remove ‘Negro’ from place names in province
SAINT JOHN, N.B. — Name changes are being proposed for two places near New Brunswick’s largest city as part of a province-wide plan to update the use of the anachronistic word Negro.
Ralph Thomas, president of Saint John-based group Pride of Race, Unity and Dignity through Education, said alternatives are being proposed for Negro Point Breakwater in west Saint John and for Negro Head in the nearby village of Lorneville.
Thomas is working as part of a research project with the New Brunswick Black History Society and the province to identify areas for potential name changes.
“What we have found in our study is that a lot of people are still using the negative word, the N-word, and that’s what we are trying to get away from,” said Thomas.