It's Hip to Be Sankofa

 

When Toronto, in the middle of tough economic times, decided they needed to spend at least 15 million to rename Dundas Street, for the ridiculous reason that Dundas, a leading Scottish abolitionist, did not demand abolition fast enough, I thought that was pretty stupid. But, as I blogged this at the time, after all Dundas had no particular connection to Canada, and we ought to doff the colonial attitude and choose Canadian names.

I suggested Dundas be renamed “Jubilee Street,” and Dundas Square “Jubilee Square.” Because, after all, it is a fitting name for a place of celebrations. And Canada was shockingly doing nothing else to commemorate Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee, an unprecedented historic event.

Elizabeth not Canadian enough, you object? Au contraire, the entire historical raison d’etre for Canada’s existence is allegiance to the monarchy. She was Queen of Canada. 

I would certainly have settled for Macdonald Square. But guess whose statues are all being covered up by tarps or torn down.

Toronto has announced its new name for Dundas Square. It will be called “Sankofa Square.” After a word in the Akan language, spoken in some parts of Ghana, meaning reputedly, but improbably, “it is not taboo to go back and fetch what you forgot.” Deeply meaningful to all, no doubt.

The Aka, incidentally, were major slave-traders.

If you were writing a parody of Toronto’s eternal provincialism, you could not do better. No Canadian nor local references, no. Once a colony, always a colony. God forbid Toronto should ever have any culture of its own.