Toronto's decolonization manager, key in Dundas Square renaming, no longer works for city

'We can confirm that Ms. Blackman is no longer employed by the City of Toronto and that all programming will continue without interruption,' said a city spokesperson.

  • By
  • April 19, 2024
  • News Analysis
Toronto's decolonization manager, key in Dundas Square renaming, no longer works for city
LinkedIn / Cheryl Blackman
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One of the leaders in Toronto's efforts to "decolonize" itself and erase its own history no longer works for the city.

Toronto has made nationwide headlines for its efforts to decolonize, especially recently after its efforts to rename Dundas Square due to concerns that the name was offensive.

These efforts, and more, were headed in part by the general manager of economic development and culture, Cheryl Blackman.

Other accomplishments of Blackman include her overseeing the defunding of a historical reenactment at Fort York due to an "anti-colonial review of values."

True North Centre contacted the City of Toronto for Blackman's employment status. They confirmed that Blackman no longer works for the city, though no reason was given.

“We can confirm that Ms. Blackman is no longer employed by the City of Toronto and that all programming will continue without interruption,” said a city spokesperson.

Following a petition to the City of Toronto, Blackman was tasked with consulting on the renaming of Yonge-Dundas Square in 2020, following the death of George Floyd.

The committee she chaired claimed that the square's namesake, Henry Dundas, played a role in prolonging the transatlantic slave trade, a contention disputed by his descendants and historians. The city research was challenged by Linda Dundas, who presented peer-reviewed studies refuting claims against her ancestor.

“Professor Angela McCarthy, an expert in Scottish history, published two peer-reviewed articles in 2022 that detail the inaccuracies in the accusations against Henry Dundas. In her written submission to the Executive Committee, she advised it not to accept the accusation that Dundas had prolonged the slave trade,” said Dundas.

Of course, and against the will of most people, none of this was considered by the city. The city would go on to choose the name "Sankofa Square," which, coincidentally, is a word that comes from an African tribe that was active in the slave trade.

 

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