Georgia lawmakers want to rename Skidaway Island's ‘Runaway Negro Creek’

One of Georgia’s islands has a creek named Runaway Negro Creek that state lawmakers say is due for a name change.

Runaway Negro Creek lies just north of Skidaway Island State Park on Skidaway Island. It has had its name for at least 100 years, but a panel of state senators voted unanimously on Wednesday to propose a name change to the United States Board of Geographic Names, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

State Sen. Lester Jackson (D-Savannah) sponsored the proposal that the creek be renamed Freedom Creek in Senate Resolution 685.

It is said that slaves escaping captivity and going north to find freedom went across this creek on their away out of Georgia, Savannah Morning News reported.

The proposal went through the Senate Urban Affairs Committee on Wednesday, according to a senate news release on Thursday. The proposal stemmed from a summer 2017 meeting with residents of Senate District 2 in which the residents voiced their concerns about the name with the senator. The resolution will now go before the Senate Rules Committee.

“I am so pleased that this resolution has advanced another step through the committee process,” Jackson said, according to the release. “We need to replace this antiquated symbol which one that is more representative of the events of the 1800s. We will be redefining history by a shining a light on the events that transpired at Freedom Creek and honor the movement of freedom.”

This story was originally published February 8, 2018 at 5:07 PM with the headline "Georgia lawmakers want to rename Skidaway Island's ‘Runaway Negro Creek’."