Rick Perry's Family Camp Long Known by Racist Name

Perry says name changed, but others contradict him
By Mark Russell,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 2, 2011 7:39 AM CDT
Rick Perry's Family Camp Long Known by Racist Name
Republican presidential candidate, Texas Gov. Rick Perry leases a property in West Texas that was long known as "Niggerhead."   (AP Photo/Jim Cole)

Rick Santorum might not be the only Republican presidential candidate with a name problem. Back when Rick Perry was a young Democrat politician, he used to host events at his family's West Texas hunting camp, a retreat called "n-----head," reports the Washington Post. The offensive name, written in large, block letters on a big flat rock at the entrance of the camp, long preceded the Perrys' presence on the 1,070-acre camp, but it's not exactly clear on when it was removed.

Perry has condemned the word as an "offensive name that has no place in the modern world," and said that his father painted over the name soon after he began leasing the property in 1983. But several other people, including Perry supporters, say they recall seeing the name on the rock over the years, one as recently as 2008. “I remember the first time I went through that pasture and saw that,” said a retired game warden who supports Perry. “It kind of offended me, truthfully.” Perry's camp complains to Politico that the Post story is "incorrect, inconsistent, and anonymous," and says that the governor hasn't visited the camp since 2006 and stopped leasing it a year later. (More Rick Perry stories.)

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