Lake Shore Drive will now be named Jean Baptiste Point DuSable Lake Shore Drive to honor Chicago's first non-native settler in 1790. The Chicago City Council approved the renaming of Lake Shore Drive after the founder of Chicago who happens to be a black man.
"I think it's emotional because there's a struggle over a street named after the founder of our city who happens to be Black," said Ald. Sophia King, 4th Ward.
"We support everything that celebrates the DuSable legacy," said Perri Irmer, president and CEO, DuSable Museum of African American History.
“None of us would be here, including Lake Shore Drive, if this city wasn’t founded by Jean Baptiste Point du Sable,” Says Ald. David Moore.
Ald. Brian Hopkins is part of a contingent that opposes the change, and says he’s heard that many residents support his stance.
“It was about the desire to protect the tradition, the legacy, the attractiveness of the name,” he said. “It’s a beautiful name for a beautiful road.”