The fact that the journalist printed a "supposed rumor" is bad enough but in light of the fact that no one in those threads was advocating such a change and that it's obviously a sensative and incindiary topic, this article is irresponsible and even unethical.

When I moved to the historic district, one of the first things that I did was ask my neighbors (all long-time residents) what I should call the various avenues and the park. They were unanimous that the park be called "Mt. Morris Park" and that Lenox Ave. was not called Malcolm X. (There was some disagreement regarding ACP/7th Ave. and Frederick Douglass/8th Ave.) This survey made in an effort to be culturally sensative and to fit in to the extent possible. Based on this, I've called the park "Mt. Morris Park" for over a year now, and the only times that I've heard it called "Marcus Garvey Park" were by people that don't live in the neighborhood and on some of these threads. Personally, I don't care whether it's Mt. Morris Park or Marcus Garvey Park. However, given the ire that's sure to errupt over this article, I imagine that I'll start calling it "Marcus Garvey Park," except when I'm talking about Mt. Morris Park West, the Mt. Morris Park Historic District, and the Mt. Morris Park Community Improvement Association. However, I draw the line at referring to 6th Ave. as "Avenue of the Americas."

They need to get rid of Lenox Ave having 2 names!!! I am tired of giving out my address that has Lenox Ave and then the company I give it to says that they don't have that Avenue listed...they have Malcolm X Blvd!!!

It is bad enough that the Ave is the starting point of all of those massive projects and the 1267 churches!!!

GET RID OF HALF OF THOSE CHURHES!!!

GET RID OF THE TWO NAMED AVE!!!

AND....

GET RID OF THE PROJECTS!!!

Wow, that's a tendentious article.

I always just called it "the park" when I lived there, but I never heard anyone, black, white, or Latino, call Lenox anything but Lenox.

(I seem to remember there was a previous attempt to change the park's name back to Mount Morris that was led by the MMPCIA, and fought off by an impromptu movement led by someone whose name I forget -- but the protagonists on both sides of the argument were black, not white.)

I have never heard any of the new residents talking about changing the name back to "Mount Morris Park". I haven't heard anybody ever point to any individual who has advocated such a change. This is a non-issue and I think it is made-up to incite people.

As the first poster mentioned, a lot of the near-Park residents still call it "Mount Morris Park" instead of "Marcus Garvey Park", so maybe people have picked up on that in their everyday references to the Park, but this is hardly an insidious way to change the name. I can't imagine that anybody has the time or energy to do so anyway - there are bigger fish to fry, like safety and economic development in our community.

The historic district in and near the park is called Mt. Morris historical District. Where are these people getting the ideas that newcomers want to change the name? Paranoia. As for the drummers - sorry guys it may be your friggin culture but here in America we like some quiet. So obey the law and stop your friggin banging. Enough. It has nothing to do with the new white poeple in the neighborhood - it has to do with that fact that there are PEOPLE in the neighborhood who don't want to hear that crap! Why does someone need to be white in order to want to live in a civilized neighborhood. I'm black and I call the district Mt Morris Park and I have called 311 on the drummers 3 times!

I live across the street and walk my dog in the park daily. On multiple occasions my husband or I have called 911 for injured persons or crimes. Every time I've announced my location as "Marcus Garvey Park" w/ the appropriate cross streets,the 911 operators have struggled to locate it. They've always come back with "that's Mount Morris Park." I'm in favor of it remaining Marcus Garvey and I'm white, though I don't think that's really relevant, but I do think the city needs to update their maps for 911.

MG is not anywhere close to the level of MLK or Malcolm X in terms of cultural significance & impact on African American culture. Isn't there right now some street naming controversy taking place in Brooklyn over this "Sonny Carson" person? MG park is a product of a similar movement, back at the heat of the Civil rights movement, locally here in Harlem the current population wanted to reclaim and brand "Black" everything, but it was only a highly motivated handful of supporters that insisted on drove this MG name of that park in '70 or whenever it was.

W. E. B. Du Bois might be the most significant African American Scholar in history, his take on Garvery? Per Wikipedia, "WEB Du Bois had a strong antagonism toward Garvey. This was due to Du Bois' expressed hostility to the Black Star Line and other ideas of Garvey's. He began to suspect that Du Bois was prejudiced against him because he was a Caribbean with darker skin. By the late 1920s, his antagonism had turned to almost pathological disdain. To Du Bois, Garvey was "a lunatic or a traitor." Garvey called Du Bois "purely and simply a white man's nigger" and "a little Dutch, a little French, a little Negro ... a mulatto ... a monstrosity." This led to an acrimonious relationship between Garvey and the NAACP.

(above is unedited text - real history - straight from Wikipedia). MG is a fringe figure catering to the extreme to a great many people, some would even call Farakhan "mild" compared to Garvey. In the South there are a great many schools and parks named for White racist and many of those are being changed and renamed now that we have perspective and context. Garvey no more represented Harlem than Farakhan did when he held that Million Youth March back in the 90's on Lenox Ave.

Just because a small niche group successfully got the park named Garvey, that does not mean it was warranted. Take a good look at Garvey, the facist, I believe he spent only a few years in Harlem, this Jamaican born man spent more time in the UK I believe, could be wrong, but he is was on the extreme fringe and at bitter odds with the greatest African AMerican Scholars in history.

It's a slap in the fact to WEB Du Bois to name a dog pissing fire hydrant after Garvey, just an opinion. I can think of about A HUNDRED significant African Americans far more deserving of having that park named after them, starting with Madam CJ Walker and continuing on the Van Der Zee and on and on. But Garvey? There is no difference than nameing that park after Farakhan, no thanks.

Garvey was half-a-loon with a few marbles missing.

Anonymouse (Yes, I'm leaving it that way!) sounds like the half loon with a few marbles missing. Just an observation...no Wiki reference necessary.

Questioning the very foundation, basis, merit and justification of naming the park after Garvey seems reasonable to me. Historically Garvey faced criticism after he met with prominent leader of the Ku Klux Klan. W.E.B. DuBois claimed that "Marcus Garvey is the most dangerous enemy of the Negro race in America and in the world" and Asa Philip Randolph and Chandler Owen, publisher of Harlem's "The Messenger Magazine", called Garvey the "messenger boy of the Klan".

What's it all mean? To America's greatest African American scholars, Garvey is no one to admire in any way. I wonder if White people know and understand the truth about Garvey? I sense they kind of assume he's some heroic figure to Black Americans and defer respect on that basis alone: not so, total fantasy.

In his day Garvey was a loon, and extremist, a nut to America's greatest Black scholars. Garvey is a Jamaican that spent more of his time in the UK. He is not some Harlem born and bred figure, he had an office on 156th St. for a few years and made a lot of noise appealing to extremist. He also was a well known Fascist.

Garvey is not some MLK or Malcolm X -like figure. A handful of militant extremist in Harlem in '69 or '70 simply forced this down the throat of NYC in the heat of the Black pride era, that's it.

It's my opinion that White people who are fine with the naming of Marcus Garvey park are uninformed and if educated would wonder why Black Americans herald him with the naming of a park. I also believe few Black people are aware Garvey was an outcast and loon the America's greatest Black scholars. It's really a joke to name a park in Harlem after Garvey.

Question the sense, merit, and appropriateness in naming a park after Garvey. Be aware a handful of militants did it in the first place, and note how Garvey was considered a loon by America's greatest Black scholars.

Truth? Very similar to the Farakhan of his day.

Anonymouse...it is all opinion. The park is named MG and has been for 30 years. Give it a rest. You're entitled to your opinion...you've shared it. I disagree with you that the man was a "loon." He was actually extremely intelligent and spoke out about issues that are still plaguing the community today. DuBois and the others you mention were full of rhetoric whereas Garvey was about action like it or not.

Let me say this, 1st off who ever is signing on as "Resident" or Anonymous is either a cracka or an uncle tom, bootlicking scared to death negro who doesn't have the guts and heart to comeforth with their name.....but listen up, WE WILL NOT BE MOVED AND WE WILL CONTINUE OUR RELIGIOUS, SPIRITUAL AND CULTURAL BELIEF OF DRUMMING.

DEATH TO WHITE SUPREMACY

Khady,

If you are a drummer (as it appears from your message), how did you respond when the residents of Maple Court over on Madison insisted a few years ago that you move from in front of their building?

who ever the anonymous coward is that just asked how did I respond to the residents of Maple Court......It does not matter rather I am a drummer or not and I know nothing about the residents of Maple Court. I grew up in Harlem but now live in Brooklyn, and I see the drummer's circle in Prospect Park to me has been descerated to have crackers (white folk) in the very center of our circle jumping around with no rhythm what so ever they are their drumming....one brother in 2005 stepped to the cracker and told him, "this is for the african" and lead drummer of all drummers got on his case for stepping to the cracker, so I have seen 1st hand what can happen once you allow crackers to infilltrate and intergrate into your cultural beliefs and practices....look at what has happed....gentrification is at an all time high, now you are going to call drumming "noise" you want it eliminated you want to change the name black to Mount Morris Park...one must look at that process and once we allow this to go down we are finished as a people.

WE WILL CONTINUE TO DRUM BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY IT IS PART OF OUR RELIGIOUS, SPIRITUAL AND CULTURAL BELIEF.......

Alright, you obviously have no sense of the history or the facts of the drummer situation in Harlem and have presented yourself to be bigoted, rude and maybe slightly crazy. I'll let all of my comments up until now stand as they are.

It felt good today to live out an example of self determination....we were at the park today and drummed not up on the steps where rats own the area, but down in the park where we should be......and we will continue to be there every saturday drumming.....even some of the scared drummers decided to come down,of course 1 guy had his drum in a black plastic bag, but at least he had the guts to come down and sit on the bench that's a beginning.....

Khady-

maple court is a condo building on the east side of marcus garvey park. the drum circle used to drum in front of that area, but when maple court was built, and the mostly black residents asked the drum circle to move - the drum circle agreed to move. the other drummers will confirm this for you. there were no protests, and no arguments when this happened.

so now you know.