On Wednesday, June 10th, Malverne, Lakeview, and Lynbrook residents came together in solidarity to make a unified call for justice. Led by the Lakeview NAACP, the Lakeview Council, St. Johns Baptist, and both community and clergy leaders, over 500 individuals from these villages came together to begin a process: the process of bridging racial divides between neighbors, sparking conversation on previously "too-hard-to-discuss" issues, and empowering action against injustice wherever we discover it.

One issue that resurfaced as a result of this march was the call to action in renaming Lindner Place in Malverne. This is the street on which Maurice W. Downing School is located. Lindner Place is named after Paul Lindner.

Paul Lindner was an instrumental figure early on in the Village of Malverne’s history. Born in 1877, Lindner's estate was what is now Grace Lutheran church, he ran a successful farm, and he “sold most of the land purchased by the Amsterdam Development Co. to create what would become the Village of Malverne.” The village also welcomed him as a community and business leader during his tenure as the President of Malverne Bank from 1926-1931.

He was also a leader of the Ku Klux Klan. Pictured above and acting as Exalted Cyclops of the KKK, Lindner presided over cross burnings, led recruiting efforts, and organized a Klan march in Freeport that had over 2,000 supporters. Despite his unabashed role in the Ku Klux Klan, Malverne continues to have a street named named after him. Malverne previously renamed Lindner Place Elementary School to Maurice W. Downing School.

Roughly 40% of students at Maurice W. Downing School are Black.

The proposed name of "Cherry Lane" is a tribute to Ms. Elizabeth Carol Cherry. Ms. Cherry was one of the first Black students to attend Maurice W. Downing School and went on to teach there for over 30 years. Her selflessness and desire to better her community makes her a role model for students at Maurice W. Downing School and residents in both Malverne and Lakeview.

Renaming the street on which Ms. Cherry learned and taught for so long to Cherry Lane would be a great way to honor her legacy. Moving forward from Lindner Place, a street named to honor the legacy of a KKK leader, would help Malverne, Lakeview, and students at Downing come together in the name of equality and justice.