Why Do So Many Places In Texas Have ‘Negro’ In Their Name, Despite A Law Against It? Texas lawmakers voted to remove the word “Negro” from geographic features in 1991. But a federal board blocked the proposed name changes, and since then, almost none of them have been changed. December 14, 2020, 7:36 AM A map of Texas is displayed on a parking spot at the Old Glory Memorial in El Paso, Texas, last year. Editor’s note: This is a story about the pervasive nature of racial insensitivity in America and how it persists to this day, and contains terms some might find offensive.