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Marin County Officials To Discuss Possible Sir Francis Drake Boulevard Name Change

MARIN COUNTY (CBS SF) -- Officials in Marin County are planning to hold another online meeting next week on the possible renaming of Sir Francis Drake Boulevard because of its namesake's history as a 16th-century slave trader.

County Supervisors Dennis Rodoni and Katie Rice will hold the Zoom session at 6 p.m. Monday as part of an ongoing process to decide whether to rename the boulevard, one of the county's main thoroughfares.

County officials said Drake, an English explorer, is believed to have anchored his ship in 1579 off the coast of what is now Marin County and made landfall. The road was named after Drake in 1929 in an effort to attract tourists to the county.

The two supervisors have worked with representatives from Larkspur, Ross, San Anselmo and Fairfax, with the goal of having hearings in each jurisdiction by March 31 to decide whether to rename the road within their city or town.

The road is not the only thing named after Drake that has been targeted for a change or removal in Marin in recent months. Sir Francis Drake High School in San Anselmo also recently decided to change its name, a process that is still ongoing. A statue of Drake in Larkspur was taken down in July after protesters fought for its removal.

Monday's online meeting will be held on Zoom with meeting ID 994 2269 4295 and password 212141 to join. More details about the possible name change can be found at the Marin County website.

© Copyright 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Bay City News Service contributed to this report.

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