Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Council Decides to Rename Black Boy Lane
Following my consideration on the origins of West Green's Black Boy name back in the summer, Haringey Council has decided to rename Black Boy Lane in West Green.
The Council have called the exercise a 'renaming consultation', but the online questionnaire offers only the ability to choose from a shortlist of two new names. So it appears that the decision to rename has already been taken with only the choice of name left to be decided.
They have issued the following press release.
The council has launched a renaming consultation with residents and businesses located on Black Boy Lane, as part of the wider Review on Monuments, Buildings, Place and Street Names in Haringey – which was launched on 12 June 2020, in response to the Black Lives Matter movement.
The council believes that the names of our monuments, buildings, places and streets must reflect the values and diversity that we are so proud of in the borough. One of the street names that has been identified as not being reflective of this is Black Boy Lane.
Meanings change over time, and the term “Black Boy” is now most commonly used as a derogatory name for African heritage men.
As part of the consultation, the council is asking residents to consider new alternative names that celebrate some of the borough’s most notable influencers, and truly reflect the borough’s rich heritage.
The two names that have been shortlisted for residents to consider are, ‘Jocelyn Barrow Lane’ and ‘La Rose Lane’. The consultation will launch today, Monday 28 September and will run for a period of 4 weeks to Monday 26 October 2020.
Letters will be arriving on Black Boy Lane residents' doorsteps this week, who can respond to the consultation using one of the following methods:
- Online: www.haringey.gov.uk/renaming-black-boy-lane.
- Email:
- bblconsultation@haringey.gov.uk
- Telephone: 020 8489 3797
- By post: Consultation Co-ordinator, The Communications Team, River Park House, 225 High Road, Wood Green, London, N22 8HQ
If Haringey residents have concerns or queries about place, street or building names in the borough, please get in touch. Send your views to Leader@haringey.gov.uk.
Bios:Dame Jocelyn Anita Barrow (15 April 1929 – 9 April 2020) was a Barbadian/Trinidadian British educator, community activist and politician, who was the Director for UK Development at Focus Consultancy Ltd. She was the first Black woman to be a governor of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and was founder and Deputy Chair of the Broadcasting Standards Council.
John La Rose was a publisher, poet and essayist. He founded the Caribbean Artists’ Movement and publishing company New Beacon Books which has a bookshop in Stroud Green. In 1975, he co-founded the Black Parents Movement from the core of the parents involved in the George Padmore Supplementary School incident in which a young Black schoolboy was beaten up by the police outside his school in Haringey.
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Tags for Forum Posts: blackboy lane name change, review on monuments, building place and street names
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Michael Anderson on
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I’ve said before that I don’t care either way on the naming issue but the consultation (especially with those with a direct interest in the La Rose name) is pathetic
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Permalink Reply by Alan Stanton on
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Liz Heron is a novelist, journalist and translator, who lives in Stoke Newington. She has an occasional but always interesting blog.
She has reposted and updated her old blog about Mary Wollstonecraft who wrote: 'A Vindication of the Rights of Women' and "justly known as the mother of feminism".
Liz Heron links it with the current debate about statues & renaming streets. Here's the link;
https://lizheron.wordpress.com/2015/12/29/up-wollstonecraft-street-...
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Permalink Reply by Anna on
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One of my neighbour on Black Boy Lane put together a list of all costs, consequences and riskd that the residents of the street will have to face. This is beyond the 'just change your gas bill' and will have a real impact on our lives. Obviously it will depend on one's situation but at least one of those will apply to each resident. I am posting this with his permission.
The council have now offered a small compensation to each households, which is a positive, however, it also mentions it is a gesture of good will not legally binding, which is not really reassuring. Funnily enough, I had to call the council last week and was on hold for 20 minutes - never made it through (main number), and they close at 4pm. That doesn't bode well!
Anyway, the list:
'The level of disruption has been vastly trivialised. The following are areas, apart from utility and bank details, have to be considered:
- Ordinance Survey and Map organisations London Transport records, routes, bus stops, travel apps, time tables etc
- Current Legal documents that reference Black Boy Lane as an address such as wills, changing of such documents are likely to involve costs
- The Corporate implications of all Companies that are registered within Black Boy Lane, and whose Company name may be based on the road name. (HMRC, TAX, accounts, agents, support services etc)
- Updating of Companies House and Charities commission of all residents that are Company Directors and/or Trustees of charities and local bodies.
- All businesses with which the residents conduct business. This includes online retailers such as Amazon, E-bay etc. This also includes store loyalty cards.
- All those currently looking to sell their house who are legally obliged to declare this matter
- All residents currently looking for employment in these difficult times. All CVs, past applications, employment agencies, whether online or office based, I am looking for work myself and this list will be almost impossible to keep up to date.
- Any residents who are currently engaged in legal proceedings, this includes probate matters, adoptions, divorces, marriage notices and many other matters
- Residents with Foster Children
- Residents with complex medical problems will need to ensure that each hospital with which they deal has their records updated.
- Updating the Immigrations papers of legal persons living in Black Boy Lane, this is further complicated by Brexit, which increases the number of residents who come under immigration status.
- Landlords, every tenancy agreement needs to be revised. Including the work completed by the associated management agents. Has the council traced and advised every landlord of these proposals?
- Changes to every insurance policy that is associated with a property in this area. This is not just car and house, but includes appliance care policies and life insurances. There is a real risk that if any policy is overlooked, that policy may be invalidated by the insurance company concerned. It is a great "out" for them.
- Some of us have paper driving licences which do not require renewal until we are 70 years old. Those under sixty are now forced to have a driving license of ten year duration with the added hassle of renewal at a cost.
- It will be years until the new name will be familiar to people in the area. For years we will have our addressed queried and requested to clarify where that road is, we will still need to say "it used to be Black Boy Lane".
- This will be a logistical nightmare for residents and organisations that associated with the street. There are a large number of elderly residents in this street that may not be able to manage the level of things that need to be checked and updated.
- All and any existing Contracts associated with the road and residents will need to be amended to reflect the change and maintain their Contractual status. Again this could become an easy "out" for the unscrupulous.''
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Thanks for continuing posting on this, Anna.
However positive the aims and impulse behind this proposed name change, it seems increasingly clear that Haringey's preparations and its processes have been an incompetent shambles.
While the timing of the proposal - in the midst of the Covid pandemic - could hardly have been worse short of a disaster like major floods or fires.Take for instance the increasingly prominent and deeply worrying issues of the "Long Covid". With what seem to be extended physical and mental health impacts on people who have been infected with the virus and may not have fully recovered.
Another concern. I've been following a number of BBC radio items about the impact of the lockdown and virus symptoms on children, their health, and their schooling. For instance, I just finished listening to the very worrying programme Generation Covid.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000pxqz
None of this goes unreported or is otherwise "invisible" to our borough's governing politicians.
Just as they ought to be well aware of the people in Haringey who've lost or fear losing their jobs or businesses. Or are worried sick about their children and what the future holds for them.
Why then can't our leading elected politicians find the courage to say to the Dear Leader and his pals:
"Yes, statues and streetnames and memorials are important.
And yes, these are cultural issues which are vital if we are to build a more equal, just and humane society.
And important too in learning and relearning the histories of everyone who lives in Haringey.
But how about setting some clear priorities? Especially when money is tight, and the list of urgent tasks for our Council is long and getting longer".
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I've been reading-up (randomly) on the important issues of memorialising and street names. Came across some articles from Derek H. Alderman at the University Tennessee who seems well known in this field. For example: "Placenaming and the Interpretation of Cultural Landscapes" and many others are freely downloadable. They open up linked issues. Some more relevant to the U.S.
https://www.academia.edu/1035213/Place_Naming_and_the_Interpretatio...As we know work is now underway on these issues across London and in other cities. Plainly local councils should be considering such changes to promote inclusion and equalities.
Though as I've said before there is a problem of timing. Unfortunately this is not a time when cash is overflowing. There are pressures of homelessness, poverty, child hunger, and worsening physical and mental ill health. Many of our schools and other public buildings need urgent maintenance.
We can hope for but barely glimpse the post-Covid world.
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Permalink Reply by Devon Williams on
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I don't believe there is a valid reason to change the name at all. Ejiofor is just pandering or virtue signalling or whatever it's called.
However, even if there was a genuinely democratic and open decision made with input from all council tax payers in the Borough (if they wanted to) to change the name, now is not the time. There are much higher priorities as Alan mentions. It just demonstrates how out of touch the ruling group is.
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Devon, I have no brief for the wretched Joe Ejiofor and his cronies. Joe was due to be replaced at the last Labour Group Annual General meeting. But the councillor nominated instead was the victim of the current rampant complaints culture and he was suspended by the Labour Party.
But Joe or no Joe, there are still many serious points for discussion. Here's an example from Ealing where I would guess the logic of a name change might meet with wider agreement.
https://www.ealing.gov.uk/news/article/2048/southall_road_to_be_nam...
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Permalink Reply by Hugh on
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Thanks to sam_b for spotting coverage on this issue in the national press today. The following from the Daily Mail.
'Tokenistic' London council is accused of erasing history with plan to rename 300-year-old 'Black Boy Lane' after late racial equality campaigner - despite even his FAMILY opposing it
- Haringey Council decided to change name in wake of Black Lives Matter protests
- It plans to rename street La Rose Lane after local poet and essayist John La Rose
- But even his family opposed change, saying it's not what he would have wanted
- At least 70 residents have derided the plan as 'tokenistic' and a 'vanity project'
By KATIE WESTON FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 17:26, 8 December 2020 | UPDATED: 17:57, 8 December 2020
A London council has been accused of erasing history with its plan to rename the 300-year-old 'Black Boy Lane' after a late racial equality campaigner.
Haringey Council decided to change the street name to 'La Rose Lane' after local poet and essayist John La Rose, in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests.
But even his family have opposed the change, saying it's not what he would have wanted or campaigned for.
At least 70 residents have derided the plan as 'tokenistic' and an ill thought out 'vanity project' which could lose the history of the area.
The council cannot confirm the origin of the street name, with some saying it was named after a pub while others claimed it was to related to chimney sweeps.
Another theory has it named after Charles II, nicknamed 'black boy' over his southern European looks.
Councillors launched a consultation in September on the renaming of the road in West Green, South Tottenham, and invited residents to put forward their views.
But it seems a sizeable group of residents, from a wide range of ethnic backgrounds, appear to oppose the name change.
Learie David, 56, a black man who grew up in a house which actually has the road sign on it, said: 'We have been here since 1979.
'As a black man, I don't find it offensive. They say it's from where the chimney sweeps used to live.
'I'm known as the guy who lives on Black Boy Lane and I don't want it to change. We've even got the road name above our door.
'If it does change, what will happen to our post in the process and complications with people sending us letters?
'I'm not happy about it and I'll be disappointed if they do change the name.'
His sister Sharon David, 55, who also lives at the address, added: 'We are used to it and it's our street name. It's how we've lived and it's how we've always known it.
'What about the cost of it all to change everything - bank details, driving licenses, passports? Who's going to pay for that?
'I think it has become more highlighted by the Black Lives Matter movement but we don't really want it to change.'
Two of the borough's most influential figures were nominated as potential new names for the roughly 500-yard road to be renamed next year.
The finalists were poet and essayist John La Rose and Dame Jocelyn Anita Barrow - a Barbadian and Trinidadian British teacher, community activist and politician who was the first black woman to be a governor of the BBC.
Haringey residents considered the shortlisted 'Jocelyn Barrow Lane' and 'La Rose Lane' as future names of the street.
But residents said the La Rose family are in fact opposed to the name change and have forbidden the 'tokenistic' name change.
Resident Anne Taylor, who has been attending the council meetings, said: 'The La Rose family issued a statement forbidding the use of La Rose name to rename Black Boy Lane.
'They said it was a tokenistic gesture at too great a cost for Black Boy Lane residents and that John la Rose would have hated the notion.
'Still the council is going with it as alternative name.
'Racism has no place in today's society but this is like clapping for the NHS. It made people feel good but it did not help the NHS.
'Use the £60,000 pounds from your separate diversity budget to help people who actually need to eat, stay warm and support their children's education. Do not punish us.'
Residents also raised concerns of the cost of the name change and criticised the council's methods.
Anne said: 'We're quite a poor and ethnic street and by trying to get the name changed, the residents are going to get heavily penalised, including BAME people, if it goes through.'
Her husband Cameron Taylor, 47, described the move as a council 'vanity project' and said it is not known where the street name originates from.
He said: 'The council has admitted they do not actually know the derivation of the name. A lot of people feel we would be losing a bit of the history by changing the name.
'My wife has got 70 names of people opposed to the change. It seems like a vanity project. The process does not seem to be legal. It has been done very badly. They are not properly informing people.
'It is supposed to be about inclusion, so to send out letters to people when not everybody speaks English and they don't disclose costs is not fair.'
Jane Curren, 67, a white woman who has lived on Black Boy Lane for 35 years, said it is not the first time a petition has been made to change its name.
The resident, who is also opposed, said: 'You cannot change history. You can learn from it but you can't change it.
'About 20 years ago, they asked whether to change the street name and the general consensus was no, including from the Afro Caribbean community.
'Everybody said no, it's not about race. We would then have to change White Man Road a few streets away. Where does it end?
'I'm sure you could use the money to better help the community elsewhere, such as providing street lighting to get rid of antisocial behaviour.
'There is also a petition going round against it, with concerns for people changing visas or people whose immigration status is still pending.'
At a council meeting last Thursday, the council's Corporate Committee agreed the recommendation to move forward to a second consultation for renaming Black Boy Lane to La Rose Lane.
John La Rose founded the Caribbean Artists' Movement and publishing company New Beacon Books that still has a bookshop in Stroud Green.
In 1975, he co-founded the Black Parents Movement from the core of the parents involved in the George Padmore Supplementary School incident in which a young black schoolboy was beaten up by police outside his school in Haringey.
He was the founding Chairman of the George Padmore Institute, whose trustees have written to the council opposing the name change.
They said: 'We feel the renaming proposal, in the way it has been conceived and is being carried out, is not one which John himself would have supported, nor is it in tune with his vision of the importance of people having access to and knowledge of all their history so that they can then make their own independent judgements.
'It is clear that the renaming proposal was not serious because (a) John La Rose's' closest family and friends were not consulted in advance, and (b) the biographical note presented to residents about who John La Rose was, and why he should be honoured in this way, was flimsy, shoddy and tokenistic.
'We also understand that there is a considerable cost in changing the name of a road and we feel that, at a time like this, when there are so many other more urgent calls on the Council's finances, it is inappropriate to be spending money in this way.'
Council leader, Cllr Joseph Ejiofor, announced a review of monuments, buildings, place and street names in Haringey in June to show solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement that was sparked by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May.
The authority said the term 'Black Boy' is now most commonly used as a derogatory name for men from African backgrounds.
Historians say the name of the lane is likely to have come from the former Black Boy pub in nearby West Green Road.
Cllr Ejiofor, leader of Haringey Council, said: 'We know that meanings change over time and street names such as Black Boy Lane may have a more contested history.
'If we are to truly demonstrate our commitment to and solidarity with the aims of the Black Lives Matter movement, we must seriously address these issues, and a real discussion on the way in which we memorialise historical figures is long-overdue.
'The renaming of Black Boy Lane is just the start of our wider review and we will be working closely with our residents, local historians, communities and organisations to understand whether or not our street names and memorials in Haringey are appropriate for our society today.'
On the latest stage of the consultation, Cllr Ejiofor said landmarks with colonial links 'do not belong in our society today'.
He added: 'Language is a powerful tool for inspiration and change, as well as oppression and ignorance, and must be used wisely and respectfully.
'As a council we want our communities to be proud of their borough, and to have street names that reflect who we are, and the times that we live in.
'We simply cannot ignore historical decisions that are now inappropriate in today's world - regardless of how long ago they were made. They do not belong in our society today.
'We are pleased that this proposal will shortly go to public consultation on whether or not to change the road name to 'La Rose Lane', to commemorate local educationalist and publisher John La Rose.'
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As an old resident of Black Boy Lane, it seems very clear to me that this is being proposed and forced through by evil people who think that it is better to spend lots of money changing the 300 year old street name, than using the money to fund Neighbourhoods Watch networks, and other things that the people want and need, the fact is these fools want to waste lots of money and cause the residents lots of problems and costs involved in changing all the documents.
Please find part of a letter from Haringey Chief Inspector Neil Billany. (Wood Green Custody Centre).
The end of 2020 sees two significant changes for policing in Haringey which I report to you with a heavy heart. Firstly we have lost the funding for Pauline Syddell’s post and Pauline will leave us in 2021. I first worked with Pauline in 2007 when I moved to Muswell Hill Police Station and from the start I was hugely impressed with the size and strength of the Neighbourhoods Watch networks across Haringey. Pauline taught me a great deal about community policing and why Neighbourhood Watches and community groups are critical to safer communities.
The second change is we are starting the process to sell Hornsey police station, with the teams currently based there moving to Wood Green. Since first moving here I have seen the loss of a number of stations, Muswell Hill, Highgate and St Ann’s to name 3, and Hornsey will be as big a loss to the community in and around Hornsey as any of the others were to their communities. I have a very old fashioned view of the value of local police being based in local police stations, however I appreciate they are expensive commodities and in the case of Hornsey know it is in need of significant investment to be a fit and proper workplace. Sadly both the loss of Pauline and the sale of Hornsey reflect the financial pressures that we continue to work to as London manages the effects of the pandemic.
It is clear the councillors involved do not care, of give a jot about what the residents want. As long as it keeps their ego up and keeps their names in the press and on the net.
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Ejiofor's Momentum movement is dead in the water after the findings of Labour's review into anti semitism. They've been exposed for the extremists they are so if Labour want to keep Haringey they will be rid of him soon so we can avoid this costly waste of money and insult to the local community.
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