City in Oklahoma to rename street named for KKK leader

NORMAN, Okla. — Since the city of Norman, Okla., set a June 1 deadline to change the name of DeBarr Avenue, advocates of the change have praised the decision. Many remain eager to see it changed sooner rather than later, but the street, which founding University of Oklahoma professor and state and national Ku Klux Klan leader Edwin DeBarr named after himself, isn’t the only issue.

The Norman Transcript reports that the DeBarr Historic District, recognized by the National Register of Historic Places, encompasses a roughly six-block area north of the University of Oklahoma and was listed in 1991 as the first residential district to provide housing for faculty and students of the University of Oklahoma.

Activist Deon Osborne said he has heard speculation that the name was chosen in response to DeBarr’s name being removed from the OU chemistry building in the late 1980s.

Regardless, he said it, too, needs to change. But for now, he said he’s focusing on the street.

Read more: http://www.swtimes.com/news/20171118/city-in-oklahoma-to-rename-street-named-for-kkk-leader