I have heard that before, though it seems more like an illuminating story than a provable fact--

The use of the name "Coon" in minstrelry, as mentioned in the previous, goes back to the character of" Ol Zip Coon"-- This is what intoduced the name to popular usage--

It is also worth note that African and African-American folktales are often concerned with the adventures animals--I wonder if there is anyone familiar with these sort of tales to know if there were stories about raccoons?