BOSTON (AP) — Voters in Boston are weighing whether to rename the square in a historically black neighborhood to Nubian Square.
The non-binding resolution on Tuesday’s ballot would change the name of Dudley Square in Roxbury.
Supporters argue the commercial center should be renamed because Roxbury resident Thomas Dudley was a leading politician when Massachusetts became the first colony to legally sanction slavery in 1641.
Slavery was effectively abolished in Massachusetts in the 1780s.
Opponents counter that slavery was also part of the ancient Nubian empire, located in modern-day Egypt and Sudan.
Democratic Mayor Marty Walsh hasn’t taken a position on the proposal but says he’s prepared to advance regulations for the change if approved.
Roxbury is where a young Martin Luther King, Jr. preached and Malcolm X grew up.
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