Although not a native New Englander, I’ve lived up here for a lot of years. I walked Yawkey Way. I’ve listened to plenty of Boston Talk Radio including when Jay Severin was local and Howie Carr. They often discussed local Boston and Massachusetts politics. Not once in my time in New England have I heard what they are describing as a major racial issue. This is new and it’s ridiculous identity politics.
from the Blaze:
The Boston Red Sox may want to change the name of Yawkey Way. You already know why.
Boston Red Sox president John Henry says that the baseball team will lead the way to changing the name of Fenway Park’s Yawkey Way to avoid being “haunted” by the racist legacy of Tom Yawkey. (Getty Images)
The Boston Herald on Thursday reported that Boston Red Sox principal owner John Henry will make an effort to change the name of Fenway Park’s Yawkey Way in a play to avoid being “haunted” by the racist legacy of Tom Yawkey.
The public Jersey Street extension outside of Fenway Park, named after Henry’s predecessor Yawkey, has long been a point of contention for many people.
Yawkey — a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame — was the owner of the Red Sox from 1933 to 1976, and was often criticized for being the last of the major league baseball teams to integrate black baseball players onto their team.
“I discussed this a number of times with the previous mayoral administration and they did not want to open what they saw as a can of worms,” Henry told the Herald via email. “There are a number of buildings and institutions that bear the same name. The sale of the Red Sox by John Harrington helped to fund a number of very good works in the city done by the Yawkey Foundation (we had no control over where any monies were spent). The Yawkey Foundation has done a lot of great things over the years that have nothing to do with our history.”