Council leader hit with torrent of abuse over renaming of Tottenham’s Black Boy Lane
Haringey Council’s leader has revealed the torrent of horrific abuse she has received over the renaming of Tottenham’s Black Boy Lane.
The town hall renamed the street La Rose Lane - honouring seminal black author and poet John La Rose - after residents complained of the old name’s racist connotations.
The sign was defaced last month by “mindless” vandals. Days later a huge sign featuring its original name was then screwed to the wall behind, which has since been removed.
Cllr Peray Ahmet shared abusive emails she has been sent on social media, vowing she would not back down to bullies.
“My inbox is full of messages from individuals ‘objecting’ to the La Rose Lane renaming,” she said.
“One directly refers to me as a c**t. It’s not clear if they are local, but it is clear what their agenda is.
“Haringey has always stood up to far right bullies and we are not going to stop now.”
One of the messages read: “You think it proper to rename British streets. even when the natives protest it!!!!!! You are a literal left wing nazi
“Remember, every native Brit that reads your name associated with this renaming, now absolutely despises you.”
A second said: “‘Most people on the street were against the name change’ but it's alright because my mate some c**t Ahmet over here thinks she's better than those guys that live there.”
A council consultation was launched after the death of George Floyd in the US in 2020 over the name.
It said many residents were concerned about "the impact its continued use has on black people in Haringey", but admitted “a significant number of residents of the street" objected.
Some residents have labelled it a waste of money and said the change causes difficulty with direct debits and bills.
The council will give £300 to each property on the street for the inconvenience caused.
Haringey resident John La Rose was an influential figure in the struggle for social justice and recognition for Black authors, artists and thinkers.
He helped form the New Cross Massacre Action Committee in response to the New Cross fire which resulted in the death of 14 young black people.
The movement mobilised 20,000 more black individuals and their supporters in March 1981 to protest the death of the young people and the failure of the police to conduct a proper investigation.
