Hyattsville looks likely to rename Magruder Park after either a prominent local artist or the Native American tribe that once lived in the area.

After years of discussion, the city council received five recommendations for new names, but the clear frontrunners are naming it for David C. Driskell or the Nacotchtank tribe.

Driskell, who passed away last year from Covid-19, was a nationally recognized artist and curator who helped bring recognition to African-American art.

Supporters think he’s a good fit because he lived near the park and is one of the city’s most notable residents. Some feel it would also help rectify the fact that the park’s original deed included restrictions on African-Americans using it.

Driskell was the most popular of the 830 suggestions submitted by residents last fall.

Others think that the city should avoid naming the park after any individual, or honor Driskell in some other way. The frontrunner there is Nacotchtank, the name of the indigenous Algonquian people who were forcibly removed from the area in the 1600s.

Three other suggested names — “Gateway,” “Unity” and “Inspiration” — do not have much support.

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