Excerpt:
But…for all the different forms of racism and bigotry that can still boil my blood, calling a canyon along the Colorado River “Negro Bill” just isn’t one of them. Imagine if the same upper middle class white people who predominantly persist in making this argument channeled their energies in a more productive direction. Because there is racism in Grand County and Moab, but consuming time on a non-issue like this is not only a waste, it’s counter-productive, and distracts everyone from real issues of discrimination.
First, just to review, we know that the canyon was named for a black man, William Grandstaff, who called himself and was referred to as “Nigger Bill.” He was one of Moab’s early settlers, arriving in the late 1870s; Bill is still considered one of southeast Utah’s most interesting characters…
To read more of Jim’s article, click the image below:
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