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I-NAME Initiative @i-name.bsky.social · 1d

www.tampabay.com/news/educati...

Florida bill would require universities to rename streets in honor of Charlie Kirk

If the bill passes and the schools don’t change the names, they could lose state funding.

www.tampabay.com

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Derek H. Alderman @derekgeographer.bsky.social · May 8

Now Trump trying to rename the Persian Gulf the 'Arabian Gulf.' Iranian-Canadian human rights activist Nazanin Afshin-Jam MacKay says. "He can spin words and rename bodies of water for political and economic gain but he can’t rewrite 2,500 years of history." www.rawstory.com/trump-arabia...

'Bring the wrath': Trump triggers furious reaction with 'Arabian Gulf' plan

President Donald Trump reportedly plans to announce during his upcoming trip to the Middle East that the United States will no longer recognize the Persian Gulf, instead renaming it as the "Arabian Gu...

www.rawstory.com

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Derek H. Alderman @derekgeographer.bsky.social · Apr 26

Odessa, Texas approves MLK Jr. Street renaming in historic community. Past efforts to rename larger portion of street faced opposition. Resident who lived under Jim Crow says the street will be a reminder of how far the community has come and how much work remains.
www.newswest9.com/article/news...

Odessa City Council approves MLK Jr. Street renaming in historic community

A major Odessa street will soon carry the name of one of America’s most iconic civil rights leaders.

www.newswest9.com

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Derek H. Alderman @derekgeographer.bsky.social · Mar 29

Elaine Brown, former Black Panther, may get her own Oakland street name. Named road intersection in West Oakland is the site of an apartment building and commercial hub that Brown’s nonprofit, Oakland & The World Enterprises, built last year. oaklandside.org/2025/03/28/e...

Elaine Brown, former Black Panther, may get her own Oakland street name

The city wants to rename the intersection of 7th and Campbell streets after the activist and real estate developer.

oaklandside.org

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Derek H. Alderman @derekgeographer.bsky.social · Mar 29

Are Florida’s Confederate statues & place names coming back? Trump orders restoration of monuments. Unclear how much power Secretary of the Interior can exert at local level, but it will surely inspire or scare officials into compliance. #ReConfederatization www.jacksonville.com/story/news/p...

Are Florida’s Confederate statues coming back? Trump orders restoration of monuments

President Trump has ordered monuments removed or changed for "ideological" reasons to be restored. How will this affect Florida's Confederate statues?

www.jacksonville.com

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American Association of Geographers @geographers.bsky.social · Mar 28

@us.theconversation.com showcased Seth Kannar and Derek Alderman's work on what place names and renaming tell us about power. theconversation.com/from-greenla... #edusky #geosky

@derekgeographer.bsky.social @macalestercollege.bsky.social

From Greenland to Fort Bragg, America is caught in a name game where place names become political tools

Rewriting the map can influence the public psyche in ways subtle and not so subtle.

theconversation.com

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The Conversation U.S. @us.theconversation.com · Mar 28

Greenland to "Red, White, and Blueland"? The Gulf of Mexico to "Gulf of America"? #Geography scholars explore the contentious world of geopolitical rebranding - and what it does to our psyches. buff.ly/DXrbKcc #polisky

From Greenland to Fort Bragg, America is caught in a name game where place names become political tools

Rewriting the map can influence the public psyche in ways subtle and not so subtle.

buff.ly

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I-NAME Initiative @i-name.bsky.social · Mar 26

theconversation.com/from-greenla...

From Greenland to Fort Bragg, America is caught in a name game where place names become political tools

Rewriting the map can influence the public psyche in ways subtle and not so subtle.

theconversation.com

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Derek H. Alderman @derekgeographer.bsky.social · Mar 13

How do you like Vaccine Drive, Radiography Road, or Laboratory Place? Glasgow, Scotland councillors ridiculed over "creative" street name ideas for housing estate. Meant to honor site's history as former hospital, but caused an outbreak of criticism. www.thetimes.com/uk/scotland/...

Glasgow councillors ridiculed over ‘silly’ new street names

Radiography Road and Virology Grove also suggested for roads on the site of a former hospital, but locals mocked Glasgow council’s ‘creative’ plans

www.thetimes.com

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Derek H. Alderman @derekgeographer.bsky.social · Feb 14

The Heartwarming and Cynical Story of Fort Bragg's New Old Name
www.ncrabbithole.com/p/fort-rolan...

The Heartwarming and Cynical Story of Fort Bragg's New Old Name

North Carolina's biggest military base is switching back to its former moniker. Sort of. Here's the story of a loophole in the law and an obscure soldier who committed an amazing act of bravery.

www.ncrabbithole.com

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Sethers @sethographer.bsky.social · Feb 11

@i-name.bsky.social This place naming takeover has gone beyond unserious. Are we sure this isn’t a prank, or an article from The Onion?

www.thedailybeast.com/new-gop-bill...

GOP Bill Would Let Trump Rename Greenland ‘Red, White and Blueland’

Great news, folks.

www.thedailybeast.com

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I-NAME Initiative @i-name.bsky.social · Feb 10

The place naming takeover continues.

WATCH: Trump declares Feb. 9 'Gulf of America Day' on flight to Super Bowl

President Donald Trump signed a proclamation declaring Feb. 9 “the first ever Gulf of America Day" as Air Force One flew over the body of water that he ordered to be renamed from the Gulf of Mexico. T...

www.pbs.org

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Derek H. Alderman @derekgeographer.bsky.social · Feb 9

@i-name.bsky.social The Place Name Reform Rollback Begins! Army to consider changing Fort Liberty back to Fort Bragg. One option to play a "name game," identifying base not with Confederate but WWII Silver Star Recipient Roland Bragg--using brave man's name as pawn www.nbcnews.com/politics/nat...

Army considering changing name of Fort Liberty back to Fort Bragg

President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have both criticized a 2021 law that banned the naming of military bases after confederate generals.

www.nbcnews.com

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Derek H. Alderman @derekgeographer.bsky.social · Feb 1

New Zealand just granted personhood to mountain long identified as sacred to Māori. Major implications for naming natural features to maintain indigenous identity rather than treated as possession of political leaders. Instructive for USA & MAGA rewriting of place names
www.npr.org/2025/01/31/n...

A New Zealand mountain is granted personhood, recognizing it as sacred for Māori

The recognition acknowledges the mountain's theft from the Māori after New Zealand was colonized. It fulfills an agreement from the country's government to Indigenous people.

www.npr.org

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The Conversation U.S. @us.theconversation.com · Jan 24

Can Trump just order new names for Denali and the Gulf of Mexico? A geographer explains who decides what goes on the map: https://buff.ly/3PPkElK (Innisfree McKinnon, University of Wisconsin-Stout) #geography #cartography 🗃️

Can Trump just order new names for Denali and the Gulf of Mexico? A geographer explains who decides what goes on the map

How do place names get made and then changed? There’s a process. But it involves people as well as bureaucracy, so it’s not simple or quick, as President Trump is about to find out.

buff.ly

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Derek H. Alderman @derekgeographer.bsky.social · Jan 18

"As a photographer interested in the quiet power held within the lives of everyday people, I wanted to see beyond the studies and statistics of [MLK] thoroughfares." See photos from Chicago, Houston, Kansas City, Milwaukee, Orlando, and DC" www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-... @i-name.bsky.social

These 15 Photos Show the People and Places of American Streets Named After Martin Luther King Jr.

On a journey to six cities across the country over the course of seven years, a photographer captured images of the roads that bear the civil rights leader’s name

www.smithsonianmag.com

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UTK Geography & Sustainability @utkgeography.bsky.social · Jan 14

Professor Derek Alderman @derekgeographer.bsky.social provides insight on the connections between place names, identity, and power in response to suggestions that the Gulf of Mexico be renamed.

👉 Read the article from the Washington Times:
www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/ja...

Whose gulf is it anyway? Mexico has a longer shoreline, but policing is all American

President-elect Donald Trump’s demand that Gulf of Mexico get a new, more American has sparked a feverish debate over who gets to name geography and when it should be changed.

www.washingtontimes.com

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CNN @cnn.com · Jan 13

Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of defense, has voiced strong opposition to removing the names of Confederate generals from US military bases, repeatedly saying the names should be changed back: cnn.it/3WiuMXM

Defense pick Pete Hegseth repeatedly criticized removing names of Confederate generals from US bases | CNN Politics

Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of defense, has voiced strong opposition to removing the names of Confederate generals from US military bases, repeatedly saying the nam...

www.cnn.com

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Derek H. Alderman @derekgeographer.bsky.social · Jan 9

Place names may seem simple, but they carry deep meaning & controversy. Renaming Gulf of Mexico to 'Gulf of America' could spark global tension, significant costs & nationalist worldview. Is it worth it? Thanks @eenews.bsky.social for chance to contribute www.eenews.net/articles/how...

How Trump could get his ‘Gulf of America’

The president-elect could spur a name change. The world could ignore it.

www.eenews.net

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Derek H. Alderman @derekgeographer.bsky.social · Dec 30

NYC Audubon Picks New Name (Bird Alliance), Distancing from Audubon's Harmful Views & Actions Toward BIPOC. Org says: "That harm continues today, presenting a barrier to people who might otherwise become involved in or support our work.” @i-name.bsky.social
www.msn.com/en-us/money/...

MSN

www.msn.com

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Derek H. Alderman @derekgeographer.bsky.social · Dec 29

Scranton GOP rally calls to remove Biden's name from local roads following his commutation of Michael Conahan's sentence—the danger of naming places for living figures. People's legacies are fluid and impacted by future controversial actions & public backlash www.citizensvoice.com/2024/12/28/r...

Residents call for renaming of President Biden Expressway, Biden Street

SCRANTON – Lackawanna and Luzerne County Republicans rallied on Courthouse Square Saturday with a message for government officials, “Get Joe Biden’s name off our local roadways.&#…

www.citizensvoice.com

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I-NAME Initiative @i-name.bsky.social · Dec 23

www.adn.com/politics/202...

Trump wants to change the name of Denali back to Mount McKinley

Alaska’s two Republican U.S. senators, Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, immediately pushed back, saying they support the Koyukon Athabascan place name for the mountain long favored by many Alaskans.

www.adn.com

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Derek H. Alderman @derekgeographer.bsky.social · Dec 17

"The current gender gap in street names is staggering....[C]all upon the toponymy commissions of our cities to take...action to ensure underrepresented figures and their invaluable contributions are acknowledged in our urban space.”
bigthink.com/strange-maps...

Can you guess who it is? Collectively, however, streets named after men outnumber those named after women ten to one.

bigthink.com

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Derek H. Alderman @derekgeographer.bsky.social · Nov 27

Kitimat council rejected Haisla Nation's request to rename streets honoring missionaries associated with residential school history. Haisla framed renaming as a step toward recognition and healing and proposed new names reflective of tribal traditions.
www.northernsentinel.com/local-news/k...

Kitimat council rejects Haisla Nation’s request to rename streets

Pitzel alleges Haisla chief issued warning over ties if renaming rejected

www.northernsentinel.com

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Derek H. Alderman @derekgeographer.bsky.social · Nov 27

Tallahassee renaming part of Pasco Street for trailblazing Anita Davis, late civil rights pioneer & county's first Black woman commissioner. City filling an important void in America's memory landscapes--the recognition of women of color. tallahassee.com/story/news/l...

Tallahassee renaming part of Pasco Street for trailblazing county commissioner Anita Davis

She led initiatives that included building parks in Woodville, the Southside library branch and a Southside health clinic.

tallahassee.com

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