Students push to change name of street honoring KKK member

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) – University of Oklahoma students are pushing to rename a Norman street honoring a former university professor who was also a grand dragon in the Ku Klux Klan.

The Oklahoman reports that the university’s student government association passed a resolution last month to support efforts to rename DeBarr Avenue, including a petition by Norman City Councilwoman Breea Clark.

Clark posted an online petition in March asking residents to help change the name, which honors Edwin DeBarr, one of the first professors at the university. DeBarr became a KKK grand dragon while at the school and was forced out in 1923 because of his Klan involvement. The university also removed Debarr’s name from one of its buildings.

The university’s student government is set to present a resolution before the Norman Human Rights Commission next week.