Roxbury Could Still See 'Nubian Square' Name Change

Boston's mayor says an effort to rename the square in a historically black neighborhood to Nubian Square isn't dead despite the failure of a citywide referendum.

Democratic Mayor Marty Walsh said Wednesday that his office will be meeting with name change advocates to discuss next steps.

Walsh says that includes officially petitioning the city's Public Improvement Commission for the name change.

He says voters in Roxbury, where the name change is being proposed, overwhelmingly approved the proposal to rename Dudley Square.

Walsh's office says 1,986 Roxbury residents voted in favor to 957 against. The non-binding referendum failed citywide with 46% in favor and 54% against.

Supporters want to rename the commercial center after the ancient African empire because Thomas Dudley played a key role in Massachusetts' slave trade in colonial times.