Old memories and imminent politics were in the air as dozens of Ward F residents and city officials gathered on a street corner Wednesday to dedicate a portion of Martin Luther King Drive to longtime Jersey City politico Addison M. McLeon.
Aside from commemorating McLeon by naming the portion of MLK Drive from Ege Avenue to Virginia Avenue Addison M. McLeon Plaza, the event, which coincided with the Ward F block party taking place at MLK Plaza, also served as an unstated rally for the upcoming primary election for various county seats. Although Mayor Glenn Cunningham said that the event was about honoring McLeon, the megaphones in the background advertised County Executive Bernie Hartnett’s Column B team, and complemented the flyers and campaign literature that teenagers were handing out. Cunningham is supporting Hartnett for county executive in the June 4 primary.
Not to be outdone, Tom DeGise’s Column A Team was represented as well. However, it was obvious that those attending were pro-Cunningham, as most people rejected anyone who tried to give them literature with DeGise on it.
During the celebration, city officials bestowed accolades upon McLeon, 80, for being a political mastermind and a leader in bringing political savvy and know-how to the African-American community since the 1950s.
“I have enjoyed the things I’ve done to help this city,” McLeon said as he accepted the honor.
McLeon became a local legend in 1965 when he was voted into the state assembly, making him the first African-American Hudson County assemblyman. However, his one term in the assembly served as a proverbial cherry on top of his longstanding influence as a political strategist in Jersey City that continues to this day.
City officials and longtime associates discussed how McLeon brought politics to the African-American community and taught people how to use it to make the community a better place.
“McLeon was the teacher,” said John Hampton, a Jersey City resident involved in local politics. “We’re in this political business because of people like him, Ray Brown, and Fred Martin. Those are the guys that actually brought us along.” He said that McLeon explained the rudiments of rallying the vote, canvassing, campaigning, and old-fashioned handshake politicking.
“He has powerful friends,” Cunningham said. “Three years before I was born, he was making contacts.” To McLeon, he said, “I know that I stand on the shoulders of people like you.”
Cunningham recalls McLeon approaching him in the late 1960s and discussing the importance of being registered to vote. “He’s always been a friend of mine,” Cunningham said, adding that McLeon continues to give him advice each day. “He’s got it down so he calls me when I’m out of the shower, but before I’m out of the door.”
A virtual Who’s Who of Jersey City’s African-American community attended the event, many of them citing McLeon as a source of inspiration.
Served in WWII
Prior to his political career, McLeon had attended Lincoln University as a pre-med student. “I didn’t like seeing people suffer,” McLeon said. “I wanted to help people.”
But during his senior year in 1943, he decided to join the Army and serve in the air corps during World War II.
During his service, McLeon had an opportunity to tour the country. As he visited many places in America, he began to see economically decimated communities destroyed by racism and poor educational opportunities. Still wanting to help people, he came to the realization that “elected people are the people in charge.”
Building pride and courage in the African-American community, McLeon taught the next few generations of politicians how to get elected and how to make use of that position to empower the community. “You review problems and figure out what’s the best way to get around them,” McLeon said.
The most important part of this political process, McLeon said, was being educated. Teaching people how to express their ideas was equivalent to getting them to vote. Looking back on his lifetime of political involvement, McLeon proudly believes that many of the problems with race have been resolved, allowing politicians to turn to the main issue of making people’s lives better. “It wasn’t easy, but we got it done,” McLeon said.
On politics
The unveiling of the street name was filled with speeches, jokes, photo-ops, and politics. Introducing Willie Flood as the vice-chairperson of the Hudson County Democratic Party, Cunningham added that she “should be the chairperson.” In the past, Cunningham had supported Rep. Robert Menendez (D-13th Dist.) for that position when Robert Janiszewski resigned. “That’s a mistake I made,” Cunningham said. “I found that God lets us make mistakes so we could correct them.” The upcoming primary election has often been portrayed as a fight between Cunningham and Menendez as they support opposing candidates for the county executive.
People attending the event said that they were there to support Cunningham’s Column B as well. Leila Ellis, vice president of local 1199, a health care worker’s union, said, “anyone behind Cunningham, I’m supporting.”
Former Ward F Councilwoman Melissa Holloway, the sole Column A representative at the event, stood in the back. Holloway, who is African-American and running for freeholder, said of McLeon, “We go back since 1993. It’s a fitting tribute from the city. Sometimes we do things after a person passes away. This gives [McLeon] a chance to smell the roses.”
Commenting on the politics, Holloway said, “I don’t think that this back and forth politics should be going on during this.” She added, “But it’s Jersey City.”