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Kwame Ture. -THE Port of Spain City Council will begin making arrangements in September for the renaming of a section of Oxford Street to Kwame Ture Way. Port of Spain Mayor Chinua Alleyne told Newsday.
On August 1 – African Emancipation Day – Alleyne had announced the section of Oxford Street from Argyle Street to Charlotte Street would be renamed in honour of the pan-African revolutionary. He also announced that the Christopher Columbus statue in the capital city would be removed and put in the National Museum. The statue was removed on August 6 and is now in the care of the National Trust.
Born Stokely Carmichael in Trinidad and Tobago, Ture was a prominent civil rights activist and leader within the Pan-African and black nationalist movements.
His birth home on Oxford Street is currently a heritage site, but Alleyne said the renaming of the street sections was necessary to celebrate his contributions.
"It is our hope that those yet to be born will grow up inspired by the work of this global pan-African hero from behind the bridge in Port of Spain," he had said ahead of the Kambule street procession.
Asked for an update on August 21, Alleyne told Newsday the Port of Spain City Council will establish an "implementation committee" in September.
"...And the committee will advise the council on the timeline."
As recently as June, the Emancipation Support Committee (ESCTT) had called for Oxford Street to be renamed Kwame Ture Street.
ESCTT annually hosts the Kwame Ture Memorial Lecture series.
On its website, it says the series honours a man "whose lifelong desire was the edification and empowerment of all African people."
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