Street Signs To Bear Teachers’ Names

Geneva Pollock and Pearlie Napoleon were friends who both dedicated their lives to their students and their Newhallville community. So it’s fitting that the street corners soon to be named after them will be located just one block apart.

On Monday evening, the Board of Alders unanimously voted to rename the corner of Thompson Street and Shelton Avenue ​“Geneva Pollock Way” and the corner of Thompson and Newhall Street ​“Mrs. Pearlie M. Napoleon Way” after longtime educators who left their mark in their neighborhood and beyond.

Geneva Pollock lived to the age of 76. She was an English teacher in New Haven for 33 years. She played many roles in her congregation, Community Baptist Church, and served as a ward co-chair for the Democratic Party.

Pearlie Napoleon lived to the age of 86. She taught in New Haven Public Schools for more than a quarter century and was actively involved in the Mount Hope Temple Church community, her local block watch, and at the Newhallville Mental Health Center.

The women, who both died in 2020, were known for going far beyond what could be expected for the sake of their students, according to friends and relatives who testified and petitioned in favor of their street corners.

In the Aldermanic Chamber, two of Mrs. Pollock’s former students who would eventually grow up to be elected officials spoke up in favor of designating a street corner in her honor.

Dixwell/Newhallville Alder Troy Streater had Mrs. Pollock as a teacher at the former Jackie Robinson School. He helped organize the petition to name the street corner after her. ​“It is an honor she deserves,” he said.

Mrs. Pollock also taught Dixwell Alder Jeanette Morrison for seventh grade. ​“To survive that…” Morrison joked, before turning serious. 

“She was more than a teacher,” Morrison said. ​“She was a mother, a aunt, whatever you needed her to be.”

East Rock Alder Anna Festa, who chairs the City Services and Environmental Policy Committee, spoke to Mrs. Napoleon’s legacy. ​“She was admired by many for her passion, love, and care for her community,” she said.

In a note from the Napoleon family submitted as part of the petition for her street corner, family members wrote, ​“She mothered so many in the community. If you didn’t have any food, you would stop by Mrs. Napoleon’s house and she would feed you. If you needed a few dollars, you could stop by and she would give it to you.”

Also at Monday’s meeting, local professor and activist Dr. Ann Garrett Robinson appeared before the alders to thank them on the anniversary of the designation of ​“Lucretia’s Corner” at the intersection of Orange and Elm.

This week marks one year, and counting, of Lucretia’s presence on a city street sign — a distinction commonly allotted to slaveholders such as Yale, Goodrich, and Hillhouse.

Robinson led the charge to name the corner after Lucretia, the first known Black New Havener. The governor of New Haven Colony at the time, Theophilus Eaton, enslaved Lucretia for much of her life. He eventually emancipated her. Lucretia, as Robinson uncovered, became an advocate for the welfare of elderly enslaved Africans.

On Monday, Robinson heralded the alders, singling out Downtown Alders Eli Sabin and Alex Guzhnay for circulating petitions. She also delivered citations to fellow advocates Allen Gales, George Robinson, and Ronald Thomas, who helped bring Lucretia’s Corner to fruition.