NY Governor Hochul Renames Subway Station For Malcolm X
On Sunday (Aug. 10), New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law the renaming of the 110th Street-Central Park North subway station to 110th Street-Malcolm X Plaza. The renaming is to honor the late revolutionary figure who called Harlem home during his late teens and spent extensive time there throughout his life before his assassination in 1965.
“One of the best ways to celebrate the rich history and community of Harlem is to recognize the contributions of Malcolm X and the Harlem Renaissance to New York and to the world,” Hochul said at the signing. “From the struggle for civil rights and equality to boundary-breaking cultural impacts of American icons like Zora Neale Hurston and Duke Ellington, Harlem has been at the center of progress in our nation for generations.”
Ilyasah Shabazz, the daughter of Malcolm X, was present at the ceremony on Sunday. “It was his unwavering moral compass rooted in boundless love for us all that gave him this courage to speak truth to power, no matter the cost,” she said of her father to the crowd. “Malcolm X stood for freedom and equality, principles that directly align with our mission at NYC Transit,” said NYC Transit President Demetrius Chrichlow at the event. “Now when riders come to the renamed station, they’ll be reminded of its namesake’s unwavering commitment to civil rights and the importance of standing up for what you believe in.”
The station’s renaming joins other notable landmarks in Harlem that bears the name of Malcolm X, also known as el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz. They include the Masjid Malcolm Shabazz and the Malcolm Shabazz Harlem Market. Other local leaders on hand for the renaming ceremony included city council members Yusef Salaam and New York State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins. “We gather not only to rename a station, but to honor El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, known to many as Malcolm X, an American visionary whose call for Black dignity, self-determination, and human rights reshaped this nation’s conscience,” Stewart-Cousins said to the crowd.
The ceremony was part of this year’s Harlem Week celebration, and Governor Hochul also signed a proclamation honoring the 100th anniversary of the Harlem Renaissance by designating the Harlem Renaissance Cultural District as one of significance in the state. There was also a moment of silence for Harlem Week co-founder Lloyd A. Williams, who passed away Aug. 5.
