Tempe to consider renaming parks and streets named after leaders recently linked to the KKK
Download mp3 (7.13 MB)Tempe councilmembers this week will discuss a recommendation to rename several city parks, streets and neighborhoods named for individuals who were recently discovered to be members of a local Ku Klux Klan chapter in the 1920s.
Hudson Drive, Hudson Lane, Laird Street, and Hudson, Harelson and Redden parks bear the names of now-deceased community leaders who were found by the Tempe History Museum to be dues-paying KKK members.
The city has also communicated with Tempe Elementary School District about this issue, as three schools in the district were named after KKK members.
City Manager Andrew Ching will appoint an advisory committee to meet and discuss the issue, including representatives from Tempe Elementary School District and local social justice and faith groups.
Tempe is also reaching out to the family members who have city-owned locations named for their ancestors.
