Rename Debarr Avenue, Honoring Ex-KKK Grand Dragon: University Of Oklahoma Students

NORMAN, OK — Debarr Avenue in Norman, Oklahoma is named after Edwin DeBarr, one of the first professors at the University of Oklahoma. DeBarr was also a grand dragon in the Ku Klux Klan though, so the university's students want to rename the roadway.

The university's student government association passed a resolution last month to support efforts to change the name, including a petition by Norman City Councilwoman Breea Clark, The Oklahoman reported. In March, Clark posted an online petition asking residents to help.

DeBarr Avenue was named after one of the first four professors at the University of Oklahoma who served as a Grand Dragon of the KKK. After being dismissed from the University, he went on to be national chaplain of the KKK in 1923. OU Regents voted to remove DeBarr's name from the Chemistry Building in the late 1980s, yet the city of Norman still has a street in core Norman that still bears his name.
The city of Norman can acknowledge its past without honoring it with a street name. The process to change a street name involves 75% of the property owners on said street to agree to the change. If you support this change, I encourage you to sign this petition, so when I speak to property owners I can reference a list of residents who request DeBarr be renamed.

The university's student government is set to present a resolution before the Norman Human Rights Commission next week. (For more information on Debarr Avenue and other Oklahoma City-area stories, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

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