The official effort to rename Yawkey Way was met with passionate pleas by both supporters and opponents of the proposal on Thursday, though both sides seemed to agree that the decision faced by the Boston’s Public Improvement Commission is an important one.
The proposal to change the name of the street that runs alongside Fenway Park was made by the Red Sox, and pits those who say former club owner Tom Yawkey was a racist whose name should be removed from a public way against those who say Yawkey’s legacy of charitable giving should not be expunged from the city’s history.