Testimony for Nubian Square by a Nubian Notion Granddaughter

August 28, 2019

Greetings Everyone,

In many cultures names and their significance are important.

My name is Alenor Larisa Abdal-Khallaq Williams, and I am a resident and homeowner in Roxbury where I was raised and remain. I am here in support of the name change of Dudley Square to Nubian Square and ask for your support in creating and honoring a tribute to black and brown people who have invested in Roxbury, within a city that continues to reinforce white privilege, systemic racial inequities and economic disparities.

For me the reason for the name change is quite clear. One, it is a step forward towards addressing a need for the representation and inclusion of black people even as white privilege and gentrification are on the rise. Secondly, it addresses a need to recognize, honor and celebrate the contributions of blacks in Boston, particularly in Roxbury.

A Nubian Notion Inc. is my family’s business which was established in Dudley Square, started by my grandfather, Malik Abdal-Khallaq and managed for over forty years by my dad, Jacob Abdal-Khallaq. As an heir to my family’s legacy filled with sacrifice and service, I am quite familiar with Dudley Square and its history of having been maintained and sustained by black and brown business owners, black patrons, a few culturally diverse white supporters and its black residents even as the city of Boston repeatedly failed to financially support and maintain it.

Throughout my forty-nine years, the square is where I have experienced an extension of family. It is where I have received affirmation as a black woman, felt a sense of community and witnessed the creativity, resilience and fortitude of my race despite shared trials and oppressions. It is within intentional circles and spaces within Dudley that I have had the opportunity to see black people experience a sense of belonging, dignity and respect amongst one another.

In my experience, black folks didn’t travel down to the square to celebrate DUDLEY, one of many white men whose name serves as a reminder of white privilege and the state of oppression that continues to plague us. No. WE went there to celebrate US.

Some might ask, why rename the square Nubian Square? Well I ask, why not? Isn’t Nubian a name that we as informed, Black and Brown people of African descent can relate to in our efforts to be united and better our state, in light of the fact that our forefathers were stripped of their identify and from the motherland and dispersed throughout the world to cities like Boston where they were and/or continue to be mistreated, used for free or cheap labor and systematically denied equitable opportunities and representation?

I challenge those who oppose. Why not change the name Dudley Square to Nubian Square and have our commercial district, a major hub, be given a name that reflects those who held the square up when it was forgotten, neglected, abandoned and treated like the unwanted step child of Boston?

Why not change Dudley to a name we choose, Nubian, one that reflects a people and race, and no one person? Nubian of Nubia, a region between Egypt and Sudan where my grandfather traveled in the 1960s and 70s, saw himself, manifested his vision and made his journey with gifts from the motherland, across the Atlantic, back to America to those who could identify with and appreciate the culture expressed through those goods. Nubia, a name that reflects the home of empires, a place known for its business affairs and trades of resources along the Nile. A place known for its rich culture and tradition of diverse languages.

Changing Dudley Square to Nubian Square is a step towards equity and inclusion for all in our city. It offers a counternarrative that says black and brown people are still here in this city, that we matter and that our strengths and contributions as those of African descent deserve to be recognized and celebrated.