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 JJ B on
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“…you will agree that we simply cannot ignore historical decisions that are now that are now inappropriate…”
Well...I hope the Council will not ignore the absolutely tragic Wards Corner decision to demolish that buiding and replce it with augliness. That decison will result in the destruction of the livelihoods and businesses of several brown people - Latin Amercians - currently based in Seven Sisters Market.
What BS and hypocrisy!
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I have read the letters posted by Anna informing residents in Black Boy Lane of name change. The letters do NOT give the residents a choice as neither letter asked if residents want the name changed, The only choice given here is out of the 2 names the council chooses..Where is democracy? Secondly cost of changing certain things like your bills insurances the council states that they may as a Gesture of good will contribute to such cost. In other words they may not. This is a disgrace and I'm sorry but this exercise is from a Black Council Leader who clearly is the one who has the issues and nothing to do with the people of Haringey. WAKE up people as first it's this street, next it will be yours, Time to SIGN PETITION and stop this madness
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Hi Nick, the petition numbers will rise only if people want to sign. And they can only do that if they come across the link. One has to remember that there may well be a lot of people in the area who would like the change,wouldn't mind or have no particular opion on the matter. I have friends who only check out HOL at weekends so If this thread makes it into the Friday catch up it may well get some more traction and numbers go up. The pro change petition has also had coverage in The Voice, so has had some publicity. Time will tell.
Personally, I think it's mad for the council to spend money on this, at this time, when it could be better spent supporting children facing exams in a few months having lost the thick end of six months of education. I'm sure any of the schools in the borough would welcome the additional finance.
Just as a last thing, you'd have thought the first thing the council would have done is ask the residents and businesses if they had any particular opinion on the idea and then propose names.
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Permalink Reply by Alan Stanton on
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Thanks, Anna for your scan (?) copy of the letters delivered to residents. It goes part of the way to providing the information which I suggested was vital to enable residents to be properly informed.
Part way, but unfortunately not the whole way. In my view, giving this full information could and should have preceded the choice of two names as the only options. In particular, all residents are surely entitled to know with some exactness the cost to them personally. Given that the Council Leadership appears willing only to refund some of this. And also given that many many people in Haringey are losing jobs and/or having a wage cut because of Covid-19.
Can I suggest that as well as re-reading and reflecting on your posts here, it may also be helpful if people reread the thoughtful posts of JJ B. - agree with him or not.
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I agree but the cost of this effects all Haringey residents not just those who live in BBL so suggestion honesty to cost to them only is not acceptable.Its my council tax money like all Haringey residents which is being spent on an agenda by a Haringey Leader not voted in by the residence and reading Anna's comments that the estimated cost is more than 100 thousand out of our money is a disgrace. This man must be removed, the worse council leader ever
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Permalink Reply by Hugh on
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Let me say this one more time, the professional historians at Bruce Castle Museum have told us that there is no firm evidence to support a conclusion about the origins of the name. There are only possibilities. To suggest that one of those possibilities is THE origin of the name is at best misleading, at worst just downright dishonest.
This thread is a great lesson in how people cherry-pick possibilities to forge a history that suits them.
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I'm sorry Hugh but you stating this now equally is not what you were implying earlier to my comment which you
Said the following
Reply by Hugh on
The article admits to not knowing the origins of the name. but it includes the following:
There is no general consensus as to where the origin of the name ‘Black Boy’ for pubs comes from.... There are strong associations connecting this name to the slave trade
All this thread has proved is that there are a lot of angry people on a change of a street name costing money when Haringey announce hard times coming. It also shows to me that it's an agenda by a Haringey Leader who obviously has past issues as he claims that Black Boy ia term used to describe young black men today which is in his view racist. One I've never heard this term used and two fight against racism in all forms not by a name change which will not make any difference
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No, sorry, you're wrong. Save for the addition my pointing out one of the possible meanings, It's exactly what I said.
As you have seen, I wrote "There is no general consensus".
My emphasis on the possible association with the slave trade was aimed at underlining my understanding of why people might want the name changed. I sympathise. But what I do not approve of is the change being executed in such a needlessly underhand manner.
In your response above, you included the para starting "All the thread..." as part of my quote. Let me be clear, it was not anythimg I wrote. I assume you're including it as part of the quote was an accident and that it was in fact something you intended to add as a personal comment. That being the case, I have removed it from the quoted section and placed it below.
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It is very uncertain why not many from here have added their name to petition looking at the amount of comments made. I certainly find that in all petitions in the past which I tried to do, example the dedicated parking scheme, although so many on here showed support, very few signed it. People like to complain but for what ever reason just don't bother to fight for what they believe. In this case there are two petitions on change.org one in favour one agaisnts. Equally the one for change has very few signatures. What will be interesting is when the council puts Council tax up, close more services and so forth due to lack of funds yet spend thousands on this, how many people will then be bothered
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People wont sign becorse there scared of being called racists. Its not a racist name unless you reely want it to be.
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Permalink Reply by Michael Anderson on
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Or it could be that from the five people who have so far left comments -
3 live nowhere near Black Boy Lane
One thinks the term can’t be racist because they never heard Alf Garnet say it
One cannot spell “Lefty shit weasels”
I wouldn’t want to add my name to anything associated with that bunch I’m afraid
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