Voters in Boston could decide this fall whether to change the name of Dudley Square, a move critics say is needed to better reflect the community.
The city council on Wednesday held a public hearing on the matter after a petition was filed to rename the historically black commercial area of Roxbury as Nubian Square.
The square is named after Thomas Dudley, a governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the 1600s who allegedly oversaw the passage of laws that permitted slavery.
Mayor Marty Walsh and City Councilor Kim Janey threw their support behind putting a non-binding question on the November ballot to change the name, the Boston Globe reported.
The Walsh administration and city council must make a final decision about whether to include the question on the ballot by Sept. 18, according to the Globe.
Boston officials last year approved changing the name of Yawkey Way, the street outside Fenway Park, because of allegations former Red Sox owner Tom Yawkey was a racist who resisted hiring black ballplayers in the 1940s and '50s.
