Anyone searching for Toronto's Yonge-Dundas Square on Google Maps will now find that the tech giant has adopted the new name Sankofa Square for the landmark intersection – a change some are unhappy with.
A local resident who had just noticed the change took to Reddit on Monday and noted that the Target's renaming now looks a lot more official since Google eventually approved the new nickname.
Hundreds spoke out about the matter, many rejecting the somewhat controversial new title the city announced in December.
It is official
byu/The_Buddhist_Prodigy intoronto
“Despite all the outreach, surveys and endless studies the city will do before putting even the smallest project into action, it is really happy to do things like this that the majority of people don't want to do without dealing with the Batting an eyelash,” one person wrote.
Others also questioned the Sankofa designation (and the millions the city is investing to introduce it), wondering what meaning it has for the people of Toronto, and pointing out how the new name – that of the Akan -people of Ghana, meaning “go back and get it” – is perhaps just as problematic as the name Dundas, for exactly the same reasons.
“The irony of replacing a square named after a flawed abolitionist with a word from an African people who were actively involved in the Atlantic and Arabian slave trades is… an interesting choice,” another person added. “Even if it were lenient, an indigenous name would have been a much safer choice.”
“Local, Canadian or a mix and just call it Toronto Square, done. Why it's Ghanaian is a mystery to all of us,” said another, to which someone else replied, “That's the part that just baffles me.” They went and used the language of a tribe that was directly involved in the slave trade.
After discussion of the renaming began several years ago in response to namesake Henry Dundas's links to slavery – links that some say is a misinterpretation of the Scottish politician's life – thousands signed a counter-petition to rename the street Dundas and maintain the square and other city landmarks.
What a waste of taxpayer money. Sankofa?? What is the relevance??? This capital could be used for chalkboards, laptops for children, or a million other essentials. We should put an end to absurd virtual signaling. Petition to keep the name: https://t.co/UPUKl0qkxE
— Laura Minquini (@LauraMinquini) December 20, 2023
The city plans to officially remove the Dundas name from the plaza by the second quarter of this year, followed by renaming the Dundas and Dundas West subway stations and the Jane/Dundas Public Library.