Boston council hearing on Nubian Library rename ends without vote, BPL commits to follow-up

BOSTON — April 19, 2023 — Boston City Council hears competing claims over who should name the Roxbury Branch Library. The Committee on City Services and Innovation Technology held a virtual hearing Wednesday on Docket 0259, a proposal by District Councillor Tanya Fernandez-Anderson to rename the Roxbury Branch of the Boston Public Library to the Nubian Library. BPL President David Leonard defended the trustees' 7-to-4 vote in May 2020 to use the Roxbury name, citing state enabling legislation dating to 1878 and 175 years of trustee naming authority, and proposed referring to the branch informally as "the Roxbury Branch at Nubian Square." Nubian Square Coalition Chair Siddiqui Kambon disputed that account, saying he attended the virtual trustee meeting and was told in advance that no vote would be taken, and that the 2019 ballot campaign showed 80 to 90 percent community support for the Nubian name in affected wards. Fernandez-Anderson called for the naming process to be redone with fuller community engagement, and Leonard committed on the record to follow up with Fernandez-Anderson and outgoing Chair Councillor Kenzie Bach on possible next steps. No vote was taken.