A local activist is holding a hunger fast to call for the renaming of Faneuil Hall
Kevin Peterson has been advocating for the removal of the slave owner and trader’s name from the building’s moniker for years.
A local activist is ramping up pressure on city officials to rename Faneuil Hall, calling for the removal of the moniker belonging to an 18th century slave owner and trader from the historic building with a hunger fast in downtown Boston.
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Kevin Peterson, who has been at the forefront of the years-long effort to rename the site also known as the “Cradle of Liberty,” began the fast outside the hall on Monday. The founder of the New Democracy Coalition, a grassroots civics organization pushing to change the name of the historic site, said in a statement he will continue the hunger strike until Mayor Marty Walsh “identifies an immediate date” for city-wide hearings on renaming the tourist attraction.
“Faneuil Hall represents white supremacy and the related economic, cultural and political roadblocks that stymie Black life in Boston,” Peterson said in the statement. “We must stand against symbols of racism in Boston. Only then can we get to address the longstanding issues of anti-Black racism, reconciliation and reparations in the city on all levels.”
https://www.facebook.com/kevin.peterson.98837/videos/10217716837169450/
The mayor’s office declined to comment on the demonstration and instead referred to Walsh’s statement released in 2018 on the issue:
“If we were to change the name of Faneuil Hall today, 30 years from now, no one would know why we did it. Not many people know about the history of that man. And over the years, Faneuil Hall has become a place where good things have happened: historic speeches such as Frederick Douglass’ call for the end to slavery, the signing of forward thinking legislation like the affordable care act, and where hundreds of people take their oath of citizenship every year. What we should do instead, is figure out a way to acknowledge the history so people understand it. We can’t erase history, but we can learn from it.”
But in recent weeks, Walsh has indicated he’s open to talking about the prospect of renaming Faneuil Hall as efforts to remove statues and symbols considered to be representative of slavery or colonial oppression have erupted nationwide amid protests against racism and police brutality.Peterson previously organized a boycott of the marketplace named for Peter Faneuil, an 18th century merchant who built the hall with money he made trading slaves and raw goods. Historical records show Faneuil, who later donated the building to the city, also owned slaves himself.Since beginning the demonstration, Peterson has posted video updates every few hours — continuing overnight — to discuss the impacts of racism and systemic, racial injustices through specific topics including reparations and why symbols matter.For his “check in” at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Peterson said he tried to sleep for a little while, but found he couldn’t because he’s so “immersed” in following through with efforts to create change.“Changing the name of Faneuil Hall is such an important thing that we can do in this city in terms of advancing the cause of racial justice and advancing the cause of equality across the city.” he said. “We’ve been talking for the last day, almost a full day, about how we need to address structural racism. Some people call it systemic racism. They’re pretty much the same. But we’ve been talking about it because it’s important.”Democracy, he said, should reflect the interests, desires, and goals of the people to ensure equity for everyone.“There should not be any distinctions between neighborhoods in terms of opportunities, there should not be any distinctions between our public schools in terms of quality, there should be no distinctions between our hospitals, private and public, in terms of health care and the quality of service, there should be no distinction in terms of who gets to college in this city as they graduate from our high schools,” Peterson said Tuesday morning. “Sadly there are distinctions across all of those indices that I just mentioned. And that is sad for the city of Boston.”Still, the activist and seminarian said he’s a “prisoner of hope,” saying he remains committed to engaging with Walsh about the name of Faneuil Hall. “I think that we should chain ourselves to hope, chain ourselves to faith, and we should be committed to move forward,” he said.
https://www.facebook.com/kevin.peterson.98837/videos/10217721670650284/
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