Wrong way on street renaming

To the editor:

According to a street-naming list of 129 thoroughfares and public places approved by the City Council last week and sent to Mayor Eric Adams for his signature, the corner of West 127th Street and Malcolm X Boulevard would become “The Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad Way.”

So the Council would like to rename a street after the man partially responsible for the assassination of Malcolm X, with the result being that the two men would soon share a corner named after both of them. Hypocrisy is alive and well in the City Council.  

We know that the falling out between the two men was partially over the fact that Malcolm in 1964 spoke publicly about Muhammad’s seduction of several women, including his teenage secretaries, and his consequent fathering of eight children, in direct violation of his Muhammad’s preaching against sex outside of marriage. Muhammad and Louis Farrakhan were outraged.  

Farrakhan called Malcolm X a traitor and wrote, two months before Malcolm’s assassination, that "such a man is worthy of death.” 

It is clear that the threats of violence and angry rhetoric from Muhammad and Farrakhan gave encouragement to those who murdered Malcolm.  

Muhammad deserves no honors which will only give racists ammunition and false justification for their racism. 

And now attorney Ben Crump, representing Malcolm X’s family, said he intends to file a $100 million wrongful-death suit against the FBI, the CIA and the NYPD. Crump made no mention of the two men whose threats and angry rhetoric led to Malcolm’s murder.  

We know that attorneys and their clients go where the money is, and those are the government agencies. If “Generous” Bill de Blasio were still mayor, New York City would be ready to fork over millions to avoid a trial. Hopefully, Mayor Eric Adams will play hardball and go to trial to do two things: Find the truth and get justice.  

Michael J. Gorman