A plan to rename a block in Harlem after the controversial late Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad recently sparked arguments amongst members of the New York City Council.
A proposal to co-name 129 public locations in the city includes the honoring of Muhammad, a religious figure from Chicago who promoted Black liberation and labeled white people as “devils.”
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The proposal would designate “The Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad Way” as the name of the intersection of Malcolm X Boulevard and W. 127th Street.
Although Muhammad, a Black Muslim leader who passed away in 1975, had thousands of followers, Malcolm X broke away from his organization in the 1960s due to Muhammad’s detachment from the civil rights struggle, among other reasons.
The decision to grant Muhammad a street name was deemed “especially ill-timed” by Staten Island Republican Councilman David Carr during a meeting on Tuesday considering the region’s recent efforts to combat antisemitism.
Data from the Police Department show that antisemitic hate crimes have substantially grown in the city in recent years.
Elijah Muhammad was the head of a group with prejudice against Jews at its core, according to Carr. “This individual, in his lifetime, was a documented partner of white power groups and other antisemitic groups.”
Carr declared, “This is not a street co-naming that we should be supporting at this time or, frankly, at any time.”
The Nation of Islam is said to occupy a “prominent position in the ranks of organized hate,” according to the Southern Poverty Law Center’s research.
An inquiry for reaction on Tuesday was not immediately answered by the office of Councilwoman Kristin Richardson Jordan, who suggested the change.
Jordan, a Democrat from Harlem who leans far left, remained silent during the session.
However, Brooklyn Democrat and veteran neighborhood leader Councilman Charles Barron argued in support of renaming the block for Muhammad.
Near the close of the Parks and Recreation Committee meeting, Barron, a former Black Panther Party member from the Harlem branch, remarked, “I don’t want to disappoint you without having some controversy.”
We categorically reject any claims of antisemitism and endorse the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and his street renaming, according to Barron.
The Anti-Defamation League, which includes Muhammad in its lexicon of extremism, criticized him.
Elijah Muhammad, Malcolm X, and Minister Louis Farrakhan are three significant personalities in the history of the Nation of Islam, and according to Barron, the Anti-Defamation League lacks “the moral authority to be criticizing the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and Malcolm X and Minister Louis Farrakhan.”
Especially for those of us who were jailed, the Black leaders “really have saved so many people in our community, revived our communities,” according to Barron.
“Any constructive criticism of the state of Israel is always turned into antisemitism,” according to Barron. “We support that street naming.”
On Thursday, a law renaming Muhammad’s block is expected to be submitted.
A Council assessment states that although the measure would add more street markings, it would not alter the municipal map.
