NYC Council considering naming Harlem street to honor separatist Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad

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Senior News Editor since 2004

NYC Council considering naming Harlem street to honor separatist Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad​



By
Carl Campanile


January 29, 2023 4:09pm
Updated





The New York City Council is considering naming a Harlem street after controversial Nation of Islam Elijah Muhammad.
The New York City Council is considering naming a Harlem street after controversial Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad. ASSOCIATED PRESS




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The City Council is set to rename a Harlem street after Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad — a figure civil rights activists consider a bigot who promoted black separatism.
According to a street-naming list, the corner of West 127th Street and Malcolm X Boulevard would become “The Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad Way.”
The site is where Mosque Temple No. 7 — the Eastern regional headquarters of the Nation of Islam — is located.
The honor for Elijah Muhammad is among 128 street renamings on a list before the Council — which will vote on the entire list.
But naming an intersection for Elijah Muhammad along a section of Malcolm X. Boulevard is expected to raise eyebrows at a Tuesday public hearing.
NYPD Patrolman Phillip Cardillo was killed by Nation of Islam radicals in 1972 at Mosque No. 7’s previous location on 116h Street in 1972 while responding to a fake emergency call. No one has been convicted in the slaying.
Malcolm X was a protege of Elijah Muhammad, but the pair had a falling out and Malcolm X split from the Nation of Islam.

The corner of West 127th Street and Malcolm X. Boulevard would be named The Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad Way.  The corner of West 127th Street and Malcolm X Boulevard would be named “The Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad Way.” Caitlin Thorne Hersey
Malcolm X was later assassinated by members of the black religious and nationalist organization in the Audubon Ballroom on Feb. 21, 1965 — with speculation continuing to rage over whether others, allegedly including Elijah Muhammad, ordered the hit.


Muhammad denied any involvement but said days after the assassination that “Malcolm X got just what he preached.”


Harlem democratic socialist Councilwoman Kristin Richardson Jordan put in the request to honor Elijah Muhammad.


But Councilman Robert Holden (D-Queens) said the proposal to honor Elijah Muhammad should be removed from the list. The issue will be discussed at the Council’s public hearing Tuesday.

Muhammad was a mentor to Malcolm X before X left the Nation of Islam.Muhammad was a mentor to Malcolm X before X left the Nation of Islam.AP Photo/Paul Cannon, File
“I’m going to oppose Elijah Muhammad. He was a black supremacist. He was a bad guy,” Holden said. “It’s an insult to Malcolm X Boulevard.”


Councilman Kalman Yeger (D-Brooklyn) said it would be “highly embarrassing for the Council to pass… [the Elijah Muhammad street renaming]. Streets renaming should be reserved for principled and respected individuals.”


The Anti-Defamation League argued the Nation of Islam has “maintained a consistent record of antisemitism and bigotry since its founding in the 1930s.”


“The Nation of Islam opposes racial integration and advocates for the creation of a separate nation for Black people,” the ADL said. “Anti-white doctrines are incorporated into NOI ideology. Unlike many civil rights activists who critique whiteness with regard to power structures and systemic racism, the NOI engages in the demonization of and conspiracy theories about the biological nature of all white people, portraying white people as satanic, sub-human, and inherently inferior to Black people.”

The request to rename the street was made by Harlem Councilwoman Kristin Richardson Jordan. The request to rename the street was made by Harlem Councilwoman Kristin Richardson Jordan. Photo by Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images
The civil rights group said Elijah Muhammad “took over and promoted the idea that white people were created by an evil Black scientist and that Black people are the superior race.”


Others point out Elijah Muhammad drew blacks into the Nation of Islam and encouraged self empowerment.


Richardson Jordan’s proposal says Muhammad “served as the inspiration and mentor
to many, by preaching a new form of Islam tailored to the needs and problems of African
Americans, such as economic self-reliance, clean living and the promise of a future in
which African Americans would no longer be oppressed by racial discrimination.”

Some have speculated that Muhammad was responsible for the ordering the assassination of Malcolm X.Some have speculated that Muhammad was responsible for ordering the assassination of Malcolm X.AP
The request noted Elijah Muhammad’s economic development program for black people was an integral part of the growth of the Nation of Islam. During his tenure in the 1970s, the Nation of Islam owned properties, bakeries, barber shops, grocery stores, laundromats, night clubs, a printing plant, retail stores, farmland and the Guaranty Bank and Trust Company.


The renaming has it backers.


“Absolutely. Elijah Muhammad was a historical figure throughout the nation. It’s a good thing,” said Harlemite Keith Wright, leader of the Manhattan Democratic Party and former state assemblyman,





And Council Republican Minority Leader Joseph Borelli said local council members should be given deference in who they want to honor in their district — even controversial figures.


“I don’t care who council members want to name streets after in their districts. But I don’t want to hear bitching and moaning when we want to honor Christopher Columbus,” said Borelli, who represents a Staten Island district with a significant Italian American population.


Borelli has pushed back on efforts by progressives to eliminate Columbus statues and Columbus Day — arguing the famed explorer has been accused of genocide and mistreating indigenous people.


“All historical figures are human,” Borelli said.
 
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