Boycott looms for Boston landmark named for slave owner

BOSTON —
Boston’s Faneuil Hall has served as a home for civic rhetoric from the time colonists congregated to talk about freedom from the British. But the site known as the Cradle of Liberty is named after wealthy 18th-century slave owner Peter Faneuil, much to the chagrin of activists who are planning a boycott.

Kevin Peterson is leading the boycott of the city-owned building this week, saying the hall was constructed from money derived from the sale of slaves, and that the city’s African-American population doesn’t feel a connection to the site.

Peterson said letters to Democratic Mayor Martin Walsh’s office and the Boston City Council calling for a public hearing have gone unanswered.

As an alternative, Peterson and other members of the New Democracy Coalition are calling for the name to be changed to commemorate Crispus Attucks, a black man who was killed during the 1770 Boston Massacre, generally considered the first casualty of the American Revolution.

https://www.pressherald.com/2018/08/02/boycott-looms-for-boston-icon-named-for-slave-owner/