When the crowd assembled in Harlem for a street co-naming ceremony in 2014, two people stood out: Gale Brewer and Sid Davidoff. They were the only two notable whites in attendance, a circumstance not unusual for either.
Davidoff, who died on Sunday, Nov. 16, in the Dominican Republic at 86, will be mainly remembered for his unflinching loyalty to Mayor John Lindsay and a spot on President Nixon’s “enemies list.”
For many Black New Yorkers, though, especially among activists, he was recognized for his unwavering commitment to issues that rarely received mainstream coverage. His presence in the spring of 2014, when the intersection of 126th Street and Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Blvd. was co-named “The Five Percenter, Allah & Justice, Square,” sharing the corner with Rev. Powell and music immortal James Brown, was a vivid example of his connection with Harlem residents.
Unforgettable, too, is the role he played in stanching potential riots in New York City that had erupted across the country after the assassination of Dr. King. “It was Sid who brought together all the leaders, including the gang leaders in Harlem, and made sure that when Lindsay got up there, he was safe, and when he walked around, we could quell all of the violence,” Jeff Citron, one of Davidoff’s future partners, told the press.
Former Assemblyman Keith Wright, current leader of the New York County Democrats and member of the Davidoff law firm, not only witnessed the events in the ’60s but was also at the street co-naming in 2014 and introduced me to Davidoff. Before I could get a word in edgewise, members of the Five Percenters ushered him off to address the crowd, which he did, praising the work of the organizers.
Yes, Sid will be saluted, and righteously so by the dailies — and I am sure they would be remiss not to mention the action he took after the Kent State massacre. Let us hope that he will be honored by those he stood up for, even setting aside his differences with David Dinkins, concluding that he could be “reasonable.”
To a great degree, Sid could be reasonable, too, and unstinting in his concern for the marginalized.