Fife street names checked for links to slavery

Fife Council is looking into street names around the Kingdom with potential links to the slave trade.

It is leading an audit of addresses to determine which ones should be reviewed.

The audit was prompted by a meeting between Fife Council co-leaders, David Alexander and David Ross, and Mama Africa, a group of African-Scots fighting against racially-stimulated hate.

The move comes after the death in May of African American, George Floyd, while being restrained by police officers - an incident which sparked global protests under the Black Lives Matter banner

Street names in Kirkcaldy, Dunfermline and Lochgelly have been found to be potentially problematic. According to research carried out by University College London, 19 addresses in Fife are legacies of British slave ownership.

They include Balfour Court and Dundas Street in Dunfermline, Plantation Street and Dundas Street in Lochgelly and Balfour Street in Kirkcaldy.

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During the meeting, a specific concern was also raised over the Whyte-Melville fountain, dedicated to novelist George Whyte-Melville, in St Andrews and its correlation with the slave trade.

However, no relationship was found between its funding, which was raised by public subscription, and the slave trade.

Councillor Alexander said he supported the audit review, but commented that it was too early to determine what action should be taken.

He said: "We need to carry out the audit further to find the rest and anymore slave-trade associated addresses that might exist in Fife.

"Renaming might be difficult but nothing has been ruled out yet.

"We are well on the road with this audit and we certainly have all this information the next time we meet Mama Africa."

The council may also review museums it runs to see if there are any artefacts countries may want to be handed back to them.

Joyce Onuonga, group member of Mama Africa said: “We look forward to engagement in the process and wait for what the report says.

"It's premature to say what direction things should take before the report is out. There is an ongoing national debate regarding decolonisation of African artefacts and we pleased that Fife is taking action."

> Hannah Brown is Local Democracy Reporter for Fife & Angus

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