Opposition Spokesperson on Local Government, Dr Angela Brown-Burke is proposing that some of the most prominent streets in Jamaica be renamed in honour of great African leaders.

According to Brown-Burke, this is necessary if the process of decolonisation is to be completed. She made the argument on Wednesday during her contribution to the 2023/24 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives.

Declaring that decolonisation is a process that starts with the mind, Brown-Burke said: “We must intensify and deepen the process of decolonisation of our society with a nationally agreed programme of unlearning and awareness and consciousness building.

“We must raise the dignity of our population and make them proud of the ‘Africanness’ that is in the vast majority of us. We must be proud of our own language”.

Noting that many Jamaican communities have been informally named in honour of African countries, the People’s National Party spokesperson said: “We have King Street, Queen Street, Duke Street and Charles Street, Princess Street, Victoria Avenue, the Queen’s Highway in St Ann, etc. These main and best streets in our towns were not named by accident, but by deliberate colonial design”.

Brown-Burke asked “Where are the main roads named for our African leaders; Julius Nyerere, Kenneth Kaunda, Kwame Nkrumah, Patrick Lumumba, Amilicar Cabral, Walter Sisulu, Sekou Toure, Augustino Neto, Samora Machel, Franz Fanon, Walter Sisulu, Steve Beko and I could name so many others. Let’s name roads for Amina of Zaria, Winnie Mandela, Queen Njinga and other African Queens and let our population know and appreciate who these great African leaders were.”

Brown-Burke also noted that there is a school named after an individual whose role is in dispute as a collaborator in the 1831 Christmas Rebellion, Torrington Bridge and Lady Musgrave Avenue among others.

“We need to research the antecedents of these individuals. We need to set up a Decolonization and Heritage Committee, involving the UWI’s History Department and other reputable historians and in this regard, Shalman Scott (public commentator) has done significant scholarly work in this area,” said Brown-Burke.