August 23, marks the first official holiday celebrating the renaming of Yonge-Dundas Square to Sankofa Square in downtown Toronto. The square was officially renamed on December 14, 2023, as part of the city’s efforts to confront its colonial legacy. This historic step followed months of public consultation and the recommendations of a community advisory committee reviewing city assets tied to Henry Dundas, a Scottish politician whose actions delayed the abolition of the trans-Atlantic slave trade by 15 years. The new name, Sankofa, originates from the Akan people of Ghana and means “to go back and get it”—a powerful reminder of the importance of learning from the past in order to build a better and more just future. Sankofa also carries deep resonance in the African artistic and cultural imagination. The word was reintroduced into the Ethiopian and broader African diaspora landscape through the acclaimed film Sankofa by Ethiopian filmmaker Professor Haile Gerima, a work that has become a cultural landmark in redefining narratives of slavery, memory, and liberation. For those of us of African descent, the renaming of this central Toronto landmark is not just symbolic—it is a call to be part of shaping inclusive public spaces and reclaiming our shared histories