Researchers Uncover Harrowing Story That Could Be Linked To Negro Creek.

Johnson County residents have guessed at the origins of the name for an unassuming, unmarked creek in southern Overland Park. But the reality may be far grimmer than previously thought.

The story

Even before last summer’s protests, local social justice group The Miller Dream had started an online petition to rename Negro Creek.

But following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the demonstrations that followed in cities across the country including in Johnson County, an informal group made up of local officials and stakeholders began looking more closely at the creek’s name and origins.

That group is led, in part, by Johnson County Commissioner Becky Fast and comprised of some Leawood and Overland Park city staff, along with representatives from the Johnson County chapter of the NAACP, the Johnson County Museum, and the Kansas African-American Affairs Commission.