Chatham-Kent council will look to change the name of a Dresden road, during Monday night’s online council meeting.
In an effort to fight anti-black racism, the Ontario Heritage Trust requested that the municipality change the name of Uncle Tom’s Road to Freedom Road.
If council passes a bylaw to change the road’s name, it will likely be effective on July 25 of this year.
The road is the home of Uncle Tom’s Cabin Historic Site, maintained for the public by the Ontario Heritage Trust.
The term ‘Uncle Tom’ embodies many of the prejudices and biases at the root of antiBlack racism, with the term implying that a person of African descent is a traitor to their race.
