Dight avenue in the City of Minneapolis is named after Charles Fremont Dight, a professor at the University of Minnesota who dedicated his life to Eugenics and cleansing the human gene pool of human beings who were deemed "less than desirable."

 Dight not only founded the Minnesota Eugenics society but actively pursued the same type of eugenics as Nazi scientists such as Josef Mengele. In 1933, Dight wrote a letter to Adolf Hitler praising the Third Reich's efforts to "stamp out mental inferiority." This sort of legacy should not be recognized or lauded anywhere. 

Minnesotans with disabilities continue to face significant discrimination every day. Nationally, 54 percent of police involved shootings involve someone with a disability. 

The Disability Justice network is committed to combatting ableism in all of it's intersectional formats and we are committed in building more inclusive communities and amplifying the voices of those living the disabled experience. We ask the Minneapolis community to join us in  this commitment.

In doing so, we say exactly what  Governor Luther Youngdhal said in the fall of 1949 as he stood in the Courtyard of Anoka State Hospital and burned mechanical restraints

we say to the them  that we understand them — that they need have no fears -- that those around them are their friends.

Please join us in combatting discrimination and a history of state sanctioned violence and sign our petition to rename Dight Avenue.