A two-decade effort to rename a Gary street in honor of Malcolm X remains stuck in a bureaucratic stalemate. According to a discussion during Wednesday's city council meeting, organizers got the necessary signatures to rename Georgia and Virginia streets to Malcolm X Boulevard and got unanimous approval from the city's plan commission. But organizer Kwabena Rasuli said more than two years later, the street still hasn't been renamed.
"We want that to happen, and his birthday is on May 19. We have an annual celebration for Malcolm on his birthday. We've been doing it since the '90s, and we want to up that celebration. We want to celebration with some street signs and the renaming of our street in honor of our brother," Rasuli told council members.
Part of the confusion stems from who has the authority to name streets. Council attorney Rinzer Williams III said state statute would typically give that to the mayor, but the city likely has an ordinance delegating that to the city council.
Council Member Ronald Brewer said, at the time the petition was considered, the plan commission expected the mayor's administration to take the request to the full council. The Times reported in 2020 that former Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson tried to make the change by executive order, but that was later considered to be invalid because it wasn't filed with the city clerk's office.
Council President William Godwin felt it was unfair that the petitioners should have to wait, due to an error on the city's end. "You all did everything that you're supposed to do, and whatever happened between the planning commission and the council is not your fault," Godwin said.
But Council Member Clorius Lay voiced concern with the renaming itself. He questioned the number of signatures, how much it would cost residents to change their address and update their letterhead, and whether Malcolm X was ever actually in Gary.
"There has to be a reason we're doing it. He's a great man — " Lay said.
"You're not familiar with the significance of Malcolm X to the history of Black people and people all around the world?" Rasuli asked.
"Yeah, I'm part of the Institute of the Black World. That's not the question. What did he do here?" Lay replied.
Going forward, the council's attorney plans to review the city's ordinances and make a recommendation on how to proceed at the council's May 17 meeting.
