Berkeley wrestles with dark history of the city's namesake
BERKELEY -- The city of Berkeley was established in 1866, when attitudes about race were far different than today. Now, as the city tries to correct past wrongs, it is running into a problem with its history and its very name.
Berkeley is proud of its name. You see it everywhere in the city. But it's also proud of its stand on racial equity. That's where things get kind of sticky.
"I mean, I don't really know the history behind it, but I know for a fact he definitely was involved in the triangle slave trade at the time," said UC Berkeley student Agam Bal
The "he" Bal was referring to is George Berkeley, an 18th century Irish philosopher who wrote a poem about westward expansion that people here liked so much they named the town after him. These days that may be a problem, because George Berkeley was a slave holder.
He reportedly bought indigenous people to work on his property in Rhode Island, referred to them as "savages" and even advocated kidnapping native children to convert them if their parents wouldn't give them up voluntarily.
"It's like...just shock! It's bad!" said Cal student Neve Willcox, who was stunned to learn the news. UC Berkeley may be is the last place people would think to be named after a slave holder.
"I feel like if people know about it then, there is a sense of shame," she said. "Because you feel like you need to do something about it. And we should do something about it if it's like that. But I don't know!"
The university has taken action against others with a sordid past, renaming a number of its buildings in the last few years. But how would officials rename the school itself? In a statement, spokesperson Dan Mogulof wrote, "We acknowledge that the university's founders chose to name their new town and campus after an individual whose views warrant no honor or commemoration."
But the school maintains that the name "Berkeley" has come to represent a set of values, not the man. The statement concludes by saying, "While questions have been raised about George Berkeley's past, I am not aware of any formal effort or request to change the university's name."
David Brockie, visiting from England, said the same thing is happening in the UK. Trinity College, Ireland's oldest university, recently decided to remove the Berkeley name from its library.
"I think it just sharpens into focus the old problem of trying to eradicate this stuff, because it's always going to be there somehow," said Brockie. "So maybe it's about redefining what the name means, or cementing what the name means."
The city didn't respond for comment, but it may be hard to explain how a place that regularly acknowledges it is on Ohlone land should be named for a man who enslaved indigenous people. As he waited for a bus on Shattuck Avenue, Henry Aragawi said he thinks the debate over a name is missing the bigger point.
"I don't think it matters, to be honest with you," he said. "Like, what is the point? Is it that he's racist? Well, try to abolish racism now -- systemic racism right now -- instead of acting like you care about anti-racism by changing a name."
It's easy to change the name on a building. Changing the name for an entire city is not so simple. Those with "Berkeley" in their name are facing an inconvenient truth, and may be forced to live with the past rather than trying to erase it.
