Getty Nipsey Hussle
A petition by Project Islamic Hope to rename the Crehshaw Boulevard and Slauson Avenue intersection as Nipsey Hussle Boulevard has taken off.
“I knew Nipsey Hussle personally. He wasn’t just a rapper. He was a community icon,” the petition creator from Project Islamic Hope wrote.
Hussle was executed in front of his store on Slauson on Sunday afternoon. Suspect Eric Holder, aka Shitty Cuz, a Crip, is in custody.
Petition has been made to name the Crenshaw and Slauson intersection Nipsey Hussle Blvd. Let’s keep his legacy alive! Sign the petition and spread the word yall. #LongLiveNip💙 t.co/5NGQIv5yFA
Shared by Nipsey Hussle’s childhood friend GI JOE OMG, the petition which a=had around 5,000 signatures Monday has surpassed its goal of 75,000 signatures and is trending.
The signers are calling on Los Angeles City Councilman Marqueece Harris-Dawson to get it done. Harris-Dawson, who said he was a friend of Hussle’s quoted his lyrics while speaking with Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore and LAPD commissioner Steve Soboroff during a morning press conference to update people on the investigation into Hussle’s murder and also to address the late rapper’s goal of working toward helping to curb street and gang violence in LA.
“Bullets don’t have names and as long as they are flying all of us are in danger.”
LA City Councilman Marqueece Harris-Dawson knew #NipseyHussle personally, quoted his lyrics at news conf: “Bullets don’t have names and as long as they are flying all of us are in danger.” @KPCC @LAist
The murder of LA native Hussle, born Ermias Asghedom, has struck a powerful chord within the community and perhaps the larger culture. As homage to Hussle’s work to change hearts, minds and lives, fans are asking that the intersection be renamed Nipsey Hussle Boulevard.
Not everyone is totally on-board, but for different reasons.
“yall really think yall should name Crenshaw and Slauson Nipsey Hussle blvd?……. yall know those are two individual streets that cross at an intersection right? I need more detail on how that would happen if it would because right now that looks like a no.”
And this take:
“I Don’t Think Nipsey Would Want Y’all To Change Crenshaw & Slauson To Nipsey Hussle Blvd .. I Mean Those Streets Meant Something To Him , Why Touch That ?”
Meanwhile, every three or four seconds, another person signs. As this was being written the number climbed from 65,000 to more than 95,000 signatures and counting.
Hussle’s reach was local and global. His mission was to provide inspiration and hope. He paid an artist to create street murals for a local basketball court with the words ‘safety,’ ‘respect,’ and kindness,’ as part of the motif. Putting messages of positivity on the very ground kids played on. He called them “principles to live by.” Hussle was also the face of Vector 90 a community collaborative designed as a work space for people in the Crenshaw community to collaborate, network and find the resources they need to realize their entrepreneurial goals. Next to his Marathon Clothing store, on the corner fans hope to see renamed, he has a store that carries important basics at low prices. And he’s only hired locals.
His impact on his community will be felt for generations. And tens of thousands want to see his name on that street sign.