Given recent articles and exchanges on Brent heritage I thought readers would be interested in these questions and answers to be heard at tonight's Fill Council Meeting:
Question from F. Lee to Councillor Donnelly-Jackson (Cabinet Member for
Customers, Communities and Culture)
In August of 2020 the Mayor of London launched the initiative for Diversity in the Public Realm to review statues street names and landmarks in London, to reflect its diversity.
Given that Gladstone Park was identified as such for a review and given the obvious link to Leopold II with a Primary School in Harlesden, why has there been no effective council led public consultation in relation to the issue, in keeping with the Mayor's stated initiative?
Councillor’s response:
In 2020 the council undertook a review of the name of the park as part of the Mayor of London’s Commission for Diversity in the Public Realm. This involved a review of statues, street names and landmarks in London including the possibility of a name change for Gladstone Park, and community engagement was part of this process.
The review was completed in in August 2021, and the decision taken by the Black Community Action Plan Steering Group was not to rename the park, but instead to develop a public art commission in partnership with the community to both acknowledge the Gladstone family’s role in the slave trade, whilst celebrating the considerable contribution and influence of African heritage to the cultural landscape of Brent. This is in line with heritage sector best practice to retain and not obscure the significant associations of a place, and where the significance of a place is not readily apparent, it should be explained by interpretation.
Interpretation should enhance understanding and enjoyment, and be culturally appropriate, which is what we have strived to do with the heritage trail installed in the park.
In reference to Leopold School, there is no direct evidence to suggest the school is named after King Leopold II of Belgium. The school was originally named in 1874, with the high likelihood that it took its name from Queen Victoria’s son, Prince Leopold (1853-1884), who was known for his interest in education. Unable to pursue a military career because of his illness (haemophilia), he instead became a patron of the arts and literature. The school has worked with pupils to explore the history of the school and produced history boards documenting its historic timeline. In doing so, no further origins of the school’s name were found in the archives.
Question from N. Scott to Councillor Donnelly-Jackson (Cabinet Member
for Customers, Communities and Culture)
In light of recent proposals made to the Council to change the name of Gladstone Park, due to the Gladstone family’s abhorrent role in African / Caribbean slavery, could you please let me know who and when it was decided to hold a Windrush Tea Party in that particular park from 12-4pm on 24th June?
With regards to the Mayor of London’s stated initiative, I am particularly concerned that the Council have made no meaningful attempt to address concerns of local residents and initiate a wider public consultation in relation to ethical name changes regarding Gladstone Park and two Leopold educational establishments - named after families who exploited, traded, tortured and profiteered from slavery.
Councillor’s response:
The council has a duty to mark Windrush Day – and does so each year. This year’s Windrush 75 celebrations follow the land art – known as The Anchor, The Drum, The Ship – which opened in the park in October 2022, and was curated by the Brent artist Linett Kamala. The Windrush Tea Party, also curated by Linett Kamala is being held close by to the heritage trail which has been installed in the park to highlight untold histories, and to recognise and celebrate the hugely valued contribution made to Brent by Black African Heritage residents and to further the conversations that the art exhibition and accompanying heritage trail began. The Brent Windrush 75 community tea party’s location reflects the council’s commitment to continue the conversation with communities about the history of Gladstone Park.
With regards to Gladstone Park, in 2020 the council undertook a review of the name of the park as part of the Mayor of London’s Commission for Diversity in the Public Realm. This involved a review of statues, street names and landmarksin London included the possibility of a name change for Gladstone Park.
Engagement with the community was part of this process, which was completed in August 2021. The decision was not to rename the park but instead to develop a public art commission in partnership with the community to both acknowledge the Gladstone family’s link to the enslavement of Africans, whilst celebrating the huge contribution and influence of African heritage to the cultural landscape of Brent.
This space in the park, including The Anchor, The Drum, The Ship land art and the history trail, are now a space for learning, reflection, healing, gathering and celebrating.
9 comments:
ironically it turned out to be racist to think that every man called leopold is a genocidal killer. As we learn the actual leopold had a disability and was interested in art.
Trust some to miss the point. Would you be OK with school to be called Hitler School? After all, Hitler gave the world the Volkswagen, the People’s car, making it possible for millions to own a car. Why not name a school or park Mussolini School or Mussolini Park, after all he made trains run on time in Italy and we all know how important punctuality is! The consequences of enshrining disrespect played out on our screens for 8 minutes 46 seconds ! Three years after George Floyd was murdered, the ‘moment’ has passed and the excuses begin. It was named after the nephew & not the uncle? And we should tolerate it because the poor guy was disabled but loved education??? 14 million were killed by Leopold of Belgium, the association alone should make any right thinking person shudder with disgust. Gladstone may have been Prime Minister but profited from the Trafficking & Enslavement of Africans and added insult to injury by approving compensation for the loss of ‘property’, 40% of the UK budget in 1833, a sum so large, the loan was only repaid in 2015, yet the Victims received nothing.
If we genuinely care about our children’s education and culture, particularly in culturally diverse communities, then we should openly acknowledge and discuss the struggle and injustice nations endured from imperialist racist behaviour - including the genocidal activities of King Leopold of Belgium (the uncle of Queen Victoria and her husband Prince Albert) who, incidentally, is believed could be Albert's father, whom one of their son’s was named after.
I grew up in Kilburn at a time when Brent did not yet exist and London borough was not even a concept, my parents had previously lived in Harlesden, where there was an remains a significant community. I attended Queens Park Community at a time when it was still called Aylestone. Although there were a lot of pleasant moments and experiences, there were difficulties of various sorts across the communities. Over the years I have watched and at times participated in a host of activities and initiatives of not only descendants of enslaved Afrikans, but the Irish and a myriad of cultures. One of the places I would regularly go to the Learie Constantine Centre (named after the legendary Trinidad, West Indies and and Lancaster league cricketer)in Neasden; to watch my dad and his friends play dominoes. Many years later I watched from the periphery as many of the Brent communities quite rightly and successfully obtained support from the Local Authority in developing places of worship, entertainment etc according to their various cultural inclinations. Unfortunately, the experience of the Afrikan heritage community is not the same. The Bridge Park complex initiative was not allowed to succeed and it started to look as though dispute its proclamations, there was a conscious attempt by Brent’s councillors to set communities against each other by adopting a policy of differential treatment. The Tricycle Theatre opened in 1980 less than 300 metres from where I grew up. In 2018 a few Barnet residents and The British Board of Jewish Deputies expressed their view that the theatre’s current Director had obtained funding from a source they did not approve of, this was at the same time when many Afrikan heritage people were campaigning to have the planned exhibition of semi-naked Afrikan women paraded in a reproduction of the 20th century ‘Human Zoos’ in a Arts Council funded and Barbican and City of London supported so-called art exhibition called ‘Exhibit B’. Our campaign received the opposite of support and we were accused of trying to censure art. In 2020 a concerned group of people with current and/or past Association with Brent approached the Board of Governors of the Leopold Schools to have a discussion about removing the name Leopold from our schools. We also approached Brent Council to discuss removal of the name of the Belgium butcher from a road in Harlesden of all places - an area synonymous with the Afrikan community. The Council and the Board of Governors first batted us from one to to the other and then took to simply ignoring us, presumably in the hope that we would just go away, which of course we have no intention of doing. It should be noted that the Council (like Leopold School’s governing body) has consistently either refused to meet with us, ignored our correspondences, told blatant lies, or even advised us of their intention to put the matter to the 5 to 11 year old students for their considered opinion and guidance. Who is teaching who here?
Meanwhile, another campaign was trying to get the name of William Gladstone (Dollis Hill) removed from a local park and a nearby primary school. That campaign’s experience was equally challenging. The two campaigns are now operating under the banner of ‘Ethical Name Change’.
The tactic of the Brent leadership became one of constructing nonsensical phrases like ‘contested history’ (apparently the natural desire of other communities not to have the names of those that visited horror on their ancestors cannot be contested) is now to retreat from the situation and place the matter in the hands of Afrikan heritage officers - often of a relatively junior level. The purpose of this tactic should be as clear as Crystal - to set us one against the other. I suppose we all have to do what we have to.
Forgot to mention in previous comment. A few weeks after a small demonstration outside the Tricycle Theatre and a demand from the Board of Deputies of British Jews, the Director was changed the Brent located and Brent supported theatre was renamed the Kiln.
While Brent may be required to hold a Windrush celebration event it has a duty of care to its diverse residents.
This should mean active consultation with stakeholders especially those who may be directly affected by a decision.
To date, we have no evidence Brent followed the GLA's, or even their own guidance on community engagement or consultation when making this decision.
As such the council wilfully ignored the wishes of many Windrush descendants and carried on regardless holding it in a park named after the family that benefitted financially from the kidnap, torture and enslavement of those same descendants.
You couldn't make it up. If this is evidence of Brent committment to "diversity" in action they can keep it.
If Brent is truly committed to diversity and equality why is it hiding behind the pathetic and descredited "contested history narrative to justify retention and veneration Gladstone’s and Leopold’s name in its public realm?
By evidenceof its actions, its clearly happier supporting racists, anti historians and their apologists, to maintain the status quo?"
Which community in Brent other than the African heritage one would be forced to send their infant children to a primary schools named after the demon that the phrase ‘crimes against humanity’ was coined for. The unspeakable torture, exploitation and horror he caused to be visited on millions upon millions of enslaved men, women and children is legendary. Yet children (including descendants of the enslaved) are forced to received their primary education there. As if that is not sufficient, the entrance to the school is on Leopold Rd. Leopold had no connection whatsoever to Brent, yet neither the Council nor the school Board of Governors weee prepared to meet community representatives and campaigners to discuss the issue.
To add fuel to the fire and out of what can only be described as spite, the Council leadership not only insist on keeping the name of Gladstone (former British Prime Minister and notorious trafficker and enslaver and receiver of the most ‘compensation’ for being forced to accept even the notion of emancipation) on perhaps the largest park in the region, even though the Gladstone family has no discernible connection with the borough. The political leadership then shamelessly refused to address the understandable anger of the borough’s African heritage community but shamelessly chose the park to hold a symbolic tear party, using descendants of enslaved Africans between themselves and representatives of an understandably displeased community. Is it any wonder that it was boycotted by legions of the community it was supposedly meant to recognise?
There is no need for me to repeat wha others have said in the comments. It is absolutely clear that Brent’s policy claims about equality and diversity are farcical. The names of enslavers and genocidal rulers are celebrated in its public realm and those communities affected by the ongoing effects of the reprehensible actions of these people are insensitively encouraged to celebrate, and even educate their children in those same spaces.
Contests histories? Brent Council please make it make sense! If you truly are committed to your own policies then you know what you need to do.
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