London’s ‘Black Boy Lane’ renamed after fallout from Black Lives Matters protests

Get Nadine White's Race Report newsletter for a fresh perspective on the week's news Get our free newsletter from The Independent's Race Correspondent Get our free newsletter from The Independent's Race Correspondent SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy London’s ‘Black Boy Lane’ was renamed after a renowned Black publisher following concerns about its racial connotations. Haringey Council started a consultation into the planned name change following the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May 2020 and subsequent Black Lives Matter protests. The institute, which is an archive, library, educational resource and research centre that houses “materials relating to the Black community of Caribbean, African and Asian descent in Britain and continental Europe”, was established in 1991 by La Rose and fellow activists including Sarah White and Professor Gus John. Professor John, who’s a director at New Beacon bookshop, added: “A road whose name had its origin in the trade in enslaved Africans has at last caught up with history and is reflecting the historic efforts of the father of the Black resistance movement and the most iconic figure in the movement for racial equity and social justice in Britain.” The renaming of streets and removal of colonialists monuments came after a number of petitions emerged online amid the Black Lives Matter protests demanding that relics of the UK’s imperialist past were taken down.