Agassiz dropped from Fargo-Moorhead greenway project over racist writings

A plan to name a greenway project associated with the Fargo-Moorhead flood diversion after a prominent 19th century geologist has been scrapped after government leaders learned about his writings on white supremacy.

The agency leading the project, the Fargo-Moorhead Metropolitan Council of Governments, proposed calling it Agassiz Greenway, after Louis Agassiz. He's the scientist for whom glacial Lake Agassiz was named and whose name is associated with organizations, businesses and buildings in the region.

KFGO reports that soon after the name was made public earlier this month, the council and its project partners began receiving feedback about Agassiz.

"Unbeknownst to anyone on our project team, Louis Agassiz was a proponent of scientific racism and wrote prolifically on issues of white supremacy in the 1800's," the council said. It's working on a new name.

The greenway is designed to include seasonal recreational trails and native habitats.

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