I-NAME Coalition
@i-name.bsky.social
Interventions in Naming America and Mobilizing Equality (I-NAME) I-NAME seeks to create a workspace for people to come together to advance public debate and decisions about the pressing issue of place name reform.
"In a time of personality-driven politics, public spaces, it seems, can be used not just for commemoration but also for branding, power, and shaping a personal legacy." www.rte.ie/news/analysi...
What's in a name? Florida airport renamed for Trump
Palm Beach International Airport is set to get a new name and call sign - move over PBI, here comes DJT.
rte.ie
At a time when geographic names are turned into political weapons, we need principled frameworks that are participatory, research-driven, reparative, & paired with education. New piece w/Christine K. Johnson on Reconciliation in Place Names @utkgeography.bsky.social escholarship.org/uc/item/4tp6...
escholarship.org
“The fact that Nauru’s original name was shaped by outsiders’ inability or unwillingness to pronounce ‘Naoero’ properly reflects a clear power imbalance that the country is now interested in rectifying.”
This Pacific Island Nation Hopes You Will Call It by a New Name
nytimes.com
Congratulations to I-NAME Founder @derekgeographer.bsky.social and I-NAME member @reubenroseredwood.bsky.social for another great op-ed article addressing in this era of "toponymic narcissism"! thehill.com/opinion/whit...
thehill.com
theconversation.com/trumprx-trum...
TrumpRx, Trump Kennedy Center, Trump National Parks passes − government free speech allows the president to name things after himself
The law is on Trump’s side, in most cases, when his administration names things after him. But citizens still have the right to protest.
theconversation.com
Trump Steaks, Trump University, Trump International Airport? This Has to Stop. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/10/o...
Opinion | Trump Steaks, Trump University, Trump International Airport? This Has to Stop.
nytimes.com
"He was not simply changing the name. He was actually enacting a different worldview..." Kudos to @derekgeographer.bsky.social for contributing remarks for another national news piece on place renaming! www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...
The Gulf of What? Has Trump's name change caught on?
It's been a year since President Trump renamed the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America. We asked people along its shores what they actually call it.
usatoday.com
A sign of the times: toponymic narcissism and political tribute-paying. That about sums up Trump's conception of geography. It's always a delight to contribute to public dialogue with @derekgeographer.bsky.social www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...
What's in a name? Plenty, when that name is 'Trump.'
'Toponymic narcissism' describes someone's obsession with naming things after themselves. Trump's name now seems to be everywhere.
usatoday.com
Derek H. Alderman@derekgeographer.bsky.social · 6mo agoTwo geographers @geographers.bsky.social weigh in on gpush to rename U.S. places for Donald Trump. From “toponymic narcissism” to a political tribute-paying. Honored to join Reuben Rose-Redwood to explain why this naming moment is unprecedented & deeply political. www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...
Communities don’t choose names by accident. Honoring Lincoln is a way for places to weave themselves into a larger American story. Our place names reflect who we elevate, why, & to what political ends. Thanks @bridgemi.com for the interview bridgemi.com/quality-life... @utkgeography.bsky.social
Honestly, how many places are named after Abe Lincoln? In Michigan, a lot - Bridge Michigan
President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1863, launching a November tradition. It was also tradition to name municipalities, schools and roads after Lincoln.
bridgemi.com
A new bill would make all of Florida's public state universities and colleges rename one roadway on their campuses after Charlie Kirk.
Bill would make Florida colleges, universities rename streets after Charlie Kirk
A new bill would make all of Florida's public state universities and colleges rename one roadway on their campuses after Charlie Kirk.
bit.ly
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...
rawstory.com
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.
newswest9.com
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
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?
jacksonville.com
@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
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
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
thetimes.com
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.
ncrabbithole.com
@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.
thedailybeast.com
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...
pbs.org
@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.
nbcnews.com
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.
npr.org
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
"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
smithsonianmag.com
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.
washingtontimes.com
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...
cnn.com
