Washington to rename Mason County swamp for Black pioneer whose home was known by racial slur
The state's Department of Natural Resources plans to rename an 18-acre Mason County swamp for a Black pioneer whose homestead there was branded as a racial slur for decades after his death.
Rodney White Slough will honor a man born into slavery in Missouri who farmed a property near the Tahuya River until his death in 1913, DNR's Washington State Committee on Geographic Names announced Thursday. The slough had been formerly known by the N-word because White lived there.
"This is an important step forward for us to be able to heal," said Akuyea Karen Vargas, a leader of the Bremerton-based Living Arts Cultural Heritage Project, which petitioned the state for renaming the slough. "He was not recognized, not allowed to have his own footprint in this region. As a pioneer in these lands, he's finally being acknowledged."
White is believed to have arrived in Mason County in 1890. A skiff with six Black men arriving by ferry from Seattle capsized in Hood Canal in a storm, drowning two of them. White, who survived, went on to farm and build roads in the Tahuya River Valley that are still in use today. Though he died in 1913, his property was known by locals as the racial slur and was even included on Metzker Maps throughout the 20th century. White's life, and efforts to rename his former property, were the subject of a Kitsap Sun story last summer.
Alicia Charles, also a part of the Living Arts Cultural Heritage Project, said the effort included petitioning the state committee on geographic names and lobbying lawmakers, including Rep. Derek Kilmer, D-Gig Harbor, the area's congressman.
"We, as African Americans, don't get a lot of attention in this area's history," Charles said. "I felt that it was very important we move forward to show what we have done as a people, and honor these individuals."
By: Josh Farley
Source: Kitsap Sun