10 signatures reached
To: Hackney Council & The Museum of the Home
Rename the Geffrye Estate & remove Geffrye's statue.
Rename the Geffrye Estate, and remove the statue of Robert Geffrye from the museum across the road.
Let the residents pick a new name so that Robert Geffrye (a slave trader) is no longer celebrated and we don't have to live under his name.
Why is this important?
We should not condemn, not celebrate, the slave traders of England's past. The Geffrye Estate in Hackney is named after Robert Geffrye a slave trader who build the building that became a museum across the road.
I've lived in this estate for over a decade. It's a wonderful place to live, we look out for each other, we all came to our balconies to clap for the NHS, it's a lovely friendly community. But the estate we all live in is named after a slave trader, we should no longer have to live under his shameful name.
Sir Robert Geffrye (1613–1703) was an English merchant, involved with the slave trade. He made his fortune with the East India Company and the Royal African Company and used this money to build the museum across the road. Formerly called the Geffrye Museum, this has been re-named the Museum of the Home. Our estate should be re-named too!
Geffrye's role in Hackney should be condemned to the history books and museums, so that we can learn from the shameful past. He should no longer be celebrated with buildings named after him and a statue.
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