Roxbury's Dudley Station Will Soon Be Called Nubian Station, MBTA Confirms

BOSTON (CBS) - Plans are officially underway to turn Dudley Station into Nubian Station, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority has confirmed.

"MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak made the final decision last week. He has directed staff to develop a schedule and plan for implementing the name change," the MBTA confirmed in a statement.

This comes after Dudley Square's name was changed to Nubian Square in December. A ballot referendum on the idea failed citywide in November - 46% in favor and 54% against - but the vote tally showed that residents in Roxbury, where the name change was proposed, overwhelmingly favored it. But, the Nubian Square Coalition officially petitioned the Public Improvement Commission for the name change and it was approved in a December vote.

Supporters argued the commercial center should be renamed because Roxbury resident Thomas Dudley was a leading politician when Massachusetts legally sanctioned slavery in the 1600s.