Bussey Street Renaming Initiative

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS

Introduction

Community groups and activists in Roslindale and Jamaica Plain, with the support of city councilors Kendra Lara and Ricardo Arroyo,[1] have established a working group to lead an initiative to rename Bussey St., that bisects the Arboretum, in order to recognize and honor a new individual whose story will be meaningful and in concert with current community values.  As the only abutters,[2] the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University and Boston Parks and Recreation Department have been consulted, and both parties are willing to consider the community proposal and file the petition to the City of Boston to request the name change.

Bussey St. is named for Benjamin Bussey, whose legacy, like many of his peers, was complicated by some of his wealth deriving from the profits of trade in products produced by enslaved people in the American South and the Caribbean.  He was a Revolutionary War veteran and wealthy 19th century merchant who bequeathed funds and the lands he owned in Jamaica Plain to Harvard University. That land would become the Bussey Institute, a school of agriculture, and the Arnold Arboretum with the funding from James Arnold to create the Arboretum. Bussey was a philanthropist to numerous organizations and a prominent member of Boston’s upper class. His name will remain visible and remembered through Bussey Hill and Bussey Brook on the Arboretum grounds. 

Criteria for New Name

These are the two requirements for renaming by the Public Improvement Commission (PIC), the entity in city government empowered to rename streets:

  1. If the proposed name is for a person, the nominee cannot be living
  2. The proposed name cannot be identical to any other street name in the entire city, regardless of suffix (e.g., St., Ave.)  That includes non-persons, as well (e.g., Oak or Walnut Street)

A working group[3] has developed further criteria for the new name to replace Bussey St.  These five criteria will be applied by the working group to the nominations it receives in order to choose which nominees to present to the larger community for consideration and approval.  The first criterion will carry the most weight:

  1. The nominee had a direct association with the land on which the Arboretum sits. 
  2. The nominee’s story is meaningful and consistent with present day values (e.g., equal rights, inclusion).  This is necessarily a subjective determination.
  3. The nominee was from an under-represented community, historically and/or currently, such as Indigenous people, women, formerly enslaved people, people of color, LGBTQ+ people, working class people.
  4. The nominee accomplished or achieved something of value which had a positive impact on society (from local to worldwide, e.g., in the field of science, literature, the arts, politics, advocacy for equal rights)
  5. While not disqualifying, nominees who are currently recognized in other Boston public settings (e.g., on buildings, statues, squares, historical sites) will receive a lower priority. 

Nominations

We are seeking your help in identifying possible names to replace Bussey St.  Here are some names we have already identified (in no particular order) that fit the criteria:

  • Margaret Fuller, mid-19th century feminist, Transcendentalist, writer, teacher and activist who lived for a few years near the land that became the Arboretum and frequented the section that became known as Hemlock Hill for nature walks and meet-ups with friends and colleagues.
  • Dick Morey, born into slavery on what became Arboretum land and sold at age 5 to the Greenough family as an indentured servant (after slavery was abolished in MA in 1783). He ran away at age 19, two years shy of when he would have achieved his legal freedom.
  • Any one of four enslaved people (identified by first names only) – Cuffe, Grace, Phyllis, and Jack – who were domestic servants in the mid-18th century to Rev. Walter whose church was on what became Arboretum land (Walter St. near Mendum St.) and whose parsonage was on the corner of Walter St. and South St. (where Green T is now).

Please review the criteria as you consider a potential new name for Bussey St.  While our intent is to rename the street for a person, we do not preclude the possibility of renaming Bussey St. for something other than a person.  We will modify the criteria accordingly in such a case.

Please submit your nomination(s) to RenameBusseyStreet by Wednesday, November 29.  The nomination must include the following, not to exceed one page:

  • Your name and affiliation (if applicable) with a local organization connected to this Working Group
  • A description of the person (or non-person) you are naming
  • How the criteria apply to them
  • Why the name would be a worthy replacement for Bussey St. 

Working group members and affiliated organizations (Endorsing organizations in bold)

Office of Ricardo Arroyo, District 5 Boston City Councilor

Melissa Beltran, Jamaica Plain Liaison from the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Services

Dianna Bronchuk, Roslindale Liaison from the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Services

Vinny Fieg, Roslindale Main Street

Steven Gag, WalkUP Roslindale

Gretchen Grozier, Jamaica Plain Historical Society

Hidden Jamaica Plain

JP Centre/South Main Streets

Office of Kendra Lara, District 6 Boston City Councilor

Jerry Mogul, Roslindale resident

Raphael Sulkovitz, Longfellow Area Neighborhood Association

Laurie Jo Wallace, Roslindale resident

George Wardle, Roslindale Historical Society

[1] According to the Boston Public Improvement Commission’s (PIC) regulations, petitions to change a street name require a written recommendation from at least one city councilor or other elected official.

[2] PIC regulations require all abutters to petition for the renaming of a street. This rule presents a unique opportunity for this community to recommend the renaming of Bussey St., compared to streets with many more abutters that are named for others whose legacies were similarly complicated. 

[3] With input from the Arboretum.

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