Saint Paul restores street co-naming to honor Elder Mahmoud El-Kati

St. Paul City Council Member Anika Bowie announced the city’s first honoree under a newly restored practice of honorary street co-naming during a performance by Stokley at the Selby Avenue JazzFest on Saturday, Sept. 12: Elder Emeritus Professor Mahmoud El-Kati, a historian who has spent more than 60 years teaching the city about itself.

The announcement followed a 6-1 City Council vote Sept. 9 to restore honorary street co-naming, a practice the council had discontinued in 2017 “until further notice” over concerns that honorary street signs could confuse emergency responders, and to approve the designation honoring El-Kati. Council Member Saura Jost cast the lone opposing vote. The council had discontinued the co-naming practice in 2017 “until further notice,” citing concerns that honorary street signs could confuse emergency responders.

Council Member Anika Bowie sponsored both measures, leading the policy effort to restore co-naming and the resolution honoring El-Kati. Before bringing the resolution forward, Bowie said she checked directly with the police chief, fire chief and the director of public works, and none of the departments could produce records identifying emergency response incidents that had led to the 2017 discontinuation.

Rather than simply reinstating the old process, Bowie’s measure directs the council to modernize it, establishing clear standards for future co-naming requests, including eligibility, community support, geographic connection, application and review procedures, signage, public safety considerations and funding. That work will be taken up through the council’s policy committee, with Deputy Chief Hallstrom of the St. Paul Police Department and Assistant City Engineer Randy Newton on hand Sept. 9 to answer questions.

The measure also carves out a one-time exception allowing the El-Kati designation to proceed immediately, without waiting for the new standards to be finalized. Bowie said that came at the family’s request.

“Restoring honorary street co-naming was an incredible undertaking, and it was especially meaningful to renew this tradition by honoring Elder Mahmoud El-Kati,” Bowie said. “His impact transcends any single proclamation, institution or generation. His name will now have a permanent place in the Rondo community he helped shape.”

For Bowie, a mentee of El-Kati, the recognition carries personal weight. She grew up listening to him on KMOJ and later co-hosted a conversation with him about restorative justice in public schools while she was an undergraduate at Hamline University.

“We should not wait until our elders are gone to tell them what they meant to us,” Bowie said. “Elder Mahmoud deserves to receive his flowers while he is here, and future generations deserve the opportunity to see his name and learn his story.”

Jost cast the sole no vote on both the policy change and the El-Kati resolution. She said her opposition was not a reflection on El-Kati.

“It’s not because of Professor El-Kati or any virtues of any person that my colleagues wish to honor,” Jost said, adding that she did not believe co-naming work was “mission critical” to the city’s business and that she remained concerned about potential confusion for emergency vehicles, even without documented incidents. Jost also said an amended version of the measure, adding the exception for El-Kati, had circulated only shortly before the meeting, leaving her too little time to weigh the change.

Bowie disputed that characterization, saying the underlying resolution had been shared with council members for some time and had gone through revisions at the city attorney’s office’s recommendation.

Minnesota Senate President Bobby Joe Champion, also a mentee of El-Kati, helped push the effort forward.

“Professor Mahmoud El-Kati is deserving of every honor that we, as elected officials, have available to us,” Champion said. “It has been far too long for us to present this honor.”

Community advocate Tyrone Terrill, president of the African American Leadership Council and Men of M.A.R.C.H. (Men Are Responsible To Cultivate Hope), also championed the recognition.

“I am overjoyed that the City of Saint Paul has bestowed such an honor upon our beloved Griot and Elder Mahmoud El-Kati, giving him his African King Protea flowers while he can still see them and smell them,” Terrill said.

El-Kati, born in 1935, has spent decades as an educator, author and commentator on the African American experience. He came to St. Paul’s Rondo neighborhood from Cleveland in the late 1950s, in time to watch the community he calls home get carved apart by the construction of Interstate 94. He went on to teach history for years at Macalester College, where he is now professor emeritus, and where the college established the Mahmoud El-Kati Distinguished Lectureship in American Studies in recognition of his scholarly and community work. Macalester awarded him an honorary doctorate in 2022.

El-Kati co-founded the annual Pan-African Conference at Minnesota State University, Mankato, and has spent decades as a commentator on KMOJ and KFAI. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, the St. Paul Pioneer Press, the Star Tribune and the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder, among other outlets, and his books include “Haiti: The Hidden Truth.” He was previously honored as one of the subjects of “Faces of Rondo,” a sculpture installation at the Victoria Station light rail stop recognizing people who shaped the neighborhood.

The honorary designation will be located at Iglehart Avenue and Milton Street, in the heart of historic Rondo and within the Rondo African American Arts and Cultural Enterprise District. The recognition adds to ongoing efforts to make the neighborhood’s Black history, arts and culture visible in public spaces, including newly installed cultural district banners.

The honorary co-naming was formally announced Saturday, Sept. 12, during a performance by Stokley at the Selby Avenue JazzFest. Stokley, an acclaimed singer, songwriter and musician, is El-Kati’s son. Champion, Bowie, the El-Kati family, Terrill and other community leaders are expected to take part in the announcement.

The installation and unveiling of the actual street signs will happen at a later date. The community will cover fabrication, materials, labor and installation costs, with no additional cost to Saint Paul taxpayers.

Jasmine McBride welcomes reader responses at jmcbride@spokesman-recorder.com.