East Harlem Residents Sign Petition to Honor Historian Johanna Fernández
In short
- Volunteers collected 106 signatures in East Harlem; 100 are needed to present the petition to Community Board 11.
- The petition would co-name the southeast corner of 111th Street and Lexington Avenue after Fernández.
- Her book The Young Lords: A Radical History brought the group out of folklore and into wider history lessons.
Why the Good News Desk likes this one
Fernández's 2019 book placed the Young Lords in local, national and international history, where they were rarely taught before. The petition, if presented, would add a street name marking the chapter's first political act. The unveiling could happen in spring 2027 if the board approves.
From Next City
Professor Johanna Fernandez with the Committee to Save Mumia Abu Jamal & Educators for Mumia Abu Jamal makes remarks during a news conference in Philadelphia, Monday, Nov. 8, 2010. (Photo by Matt Rourke / AP) On a Saturday morning in September, at the corner of 111th Street and Lexington Avenue in East Harlem, New York, also known as El Barrio, a handful of people joined thousands of other New Yorkers in making a request of passing strangers. These volunteers were asking residents living along the block to sign a petition to rename a portion of the street after historian and activist Dr....
