After years of debate, a U.S. government board has voted unanimously to rename Utah's Negro Bill Canyon, overruling a recommendation by Utah officials to keep the name.
The U.S. Board on Geographic Names decided Thursday to rename it Grandstaff Canyon to get rid of an offensive name.
The new name honors black rancher and prospector William Grandstaff, whose cattle grazed there in the 1870s.
The Utah Committee on Geographic Names had recommended keeping the name, citing a lack of consensus from state minority groups.
The NAACP said the name is not offensive and preserves the history of the site, while the Utah Martin Luther King Jr. Commission called the name "blatant racism."
The canyon is home to a popular hiking spot in Moab.
