Ald. Lamont Robinson (4th Ward) is proposing a name change for his South Side neighborhood.

Douglas is currently named after Stephen Douglas, a 19th century political figure in Illinois whose beliefs and actions were deeply intertwined with the history of slavery. He profited from the labor of people enslaved on a plantation inherited by his wife.

Robinson is looking to add an “s” at the end of the name, to represent famed abolitionist Frederick Douglass.

“We need to make sure that our young people understand its history and be able to live in a community that supports the African American community,” Robinson said. “When I’m long gone, that history will be there.”

This follows a similar movement led by Village Leadership Academy in which students successfully pushed the Chicago Park District to rename Douglass Park on the West Side after not just Frederick Douglass, but also his first wife, Anna Murray Douglass.

“Our school took away that change is possible and the key is to be persistent because this project took several years,” said Laila Johnson, an eighth-grade student at VLA. “It inspired us to do more with several of our other grassroots campaigns.”

VLA students first initiated their campaign in 2016 to rename the park, and met that goal in 2020.

Robinson and his office are planning on proposing the Douglas neighborhood name change at next month’s City Council meeting.

“Many people might not know that Frederick Douglass spent a year in Chicago, so he had ties here,” Robinson said. “I’ve been receiving calls and emails with positive responses to this name change. And many people didn’t know the history. Many people just think about Bronzeville. They didn’t know the history of Douglas and him.”