N.B. to rename racially charged ‘Negro Brook Road,’ other provincial landmarks

SUSSEX, N.B. – The New Brunswick government is renaming Negro Brook Road as part of a province-wide plan to update the names of several sites bearing the racially charged word.

The newly-altered sign outside Sussex, N.B., reads Harriet O’Ree Road, marking a new chapter in the province’s sometimes troubled history.

“Our shameful history of slavery and segregation shouldn’t be forgotten,” Minister of Tourism, Heritage and Culture Bill Fraser said in an interview. “But we also have to remember the positive legacy that so many people have worked hard to advance equality and fairness.”

Fraser’s department will invest $50,000 over the next two years to research new names for eight more sites that better reflect their black heritage.

Quebec launched a similar project in 2015, ordering name changes for 11 sites containing the n-word in English or French.

A search found 19 sites containing the word “negro” nationwide.

Discussions for the New Brunswick project came about in 2014 after the department received several complaints about the name.

“I’m really delighted that New Brunswick has finally taken the step to officially disassociate themselves with the racism that was part of that name,” Susan Tyler, who has lived on what is now Harriet O’Ree Road for 45 years, told CBC.

The province has teamed up with the New Brunswick Black History Society to research names that represent each area’s unique history and the black settlers who came to the province as early as its founding.

“We were a part of building New Brunswick. We were a part of building Canada,” Ralph Thomas, president of the historical society, said.

“When the younger generation comes along and asks, ‘What about Harriet Road … We can say to them, ‘This is part of your heritage.’”

According to the 1851 West Sussex Census, O’Ree was a black resident in the area, but little else is known about her.

Thomas says the goal is to recognize the contributions of the black community, both large and small, to keep their memory alive.

“Some of the names are going to change, so what we have to do is we have to make sure that some of the names are not forgotten now,” Thomas said.

Some members of the society resisted the change, wanting to reclaim the word “negro” as a part of black heritage rather than an epithet.

“We will be slurred by anyone who wants to slur us, whether we change the name of the road or not,” David Peters, former president of the Black History Society, told CBC’s Maritime Noon in 2014. “They can never, ever change my fantastic heritage.

“The word ‘negro’ names in this country lets people know that we were here, we were here way before Canada became Canada even.”

Of Spanish origin, the word “negro” was once considered more descriptive than derogatory, but some say it has become tainted through years of misuse.

Thomas said some residents even replaced “negro” in the road’s name with with the yet more pejorative n-word.

Semantic disagreements aside, the province, Black History Society and residents alike recognized the importance of remembering the past.

“We’re all striving to get along in this community. I think our destinies are tied together,” Thomas said. “I think one of the first things is to recognize our history, and acknowledge our history.”

– By Adina Bresge in Halifax