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National Post

Patrice Dutil: What Toronto loses with the naming of Sankofa Square

Article content If the purpose of renaming Yonge-Dundas Square was to honour Black Canadians, why not honour an individual who deeply affected her or his contemporaries and who left a positive legacy? There are many to choose from, and each of them has personal lessons to teach to us. Article content Why not, for example, name it after William P. Hubbard (1842-1935), Toronto's first Black elected official? The man was so eloquent, they called him 'Cicero.' He had dreams for the city, and was very popular in his day. Article content Or how about Anderson Ruffin Abbott (1837-1913), the first Black Canadian doctor, who distinguished himself as a surgeon in the Union Army during the U.S. Civil War. Article content Or Daniel G. Hill (1923-2003), who became a prominent figure in Canada's civil rights movement in the 1950s and '60s? Article content All three men — there are others — need to be remembered. Article content 'Sankofa' cannot last and I hope its existence will be short-lived. I could easily come up with a half-dozen ideas and people that better communicate the city's past as well as its ambition to be a great place to live. The vital task is to make it relevant to the Toronto and the Canadian experience. Article content Article content