'Black Boy Lane' in London renamed over racial concerns

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - The controversial name of a North London lane, "Black Boy" was renamed on Monday after a late Black author and activist.

The road, located in Tottenham, will now be known as La Rose Lane, a reference to John La Rose, a Black publisher, poet, and essayist who was an influential figure in the struggle for social justice.

Work started at 9 a.m. to replace road signs in line with the decision, which was announced earlier by the Haringey London Borough Council after its corporate committee passed the motion on Feb. 1 last year.

Concerns on the name of the "Black Boy" were raised after the 2020 killing of George Floyd, a Black man in the US city of Minneapolis, by a police officer who kneeled on his neck as he repeatedly said he could not breathe.

"Our extensive consultation and engagement with the community found that many other residents shared the concerns about the racial connotations of the name and the impact its continued use has on Black people in Haringey," the council said in a statement earlier this month.

According to the council, the street had previously been named after a local pub by the same name.

"The name of the pub can be traced back to the late 17th century through original documents held at Bruce Castle Museum and Archive. This was a time when Britain's involvement in the trans-Atlantic slave trade was nearing its peak, and there were notable Tottenham residents with links to the slave trade," it added.

In June 2020, the Black Boy pub in Retford, Nottinghamshire removed its sign over fears that it could spark protests with the Black Lives Matter movement. The sign had an illustration of a Black boy on it.