'Nipsey Hussle Blvd': Petition To Rename Corner Of Slauson And Crenshaw Goes Viral
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – An online petition to rename an intersection in South Los Angeles after slain rapper and community activist Nipsey Hussle has garnered hundreds of thousands of signatures in a matter of days.
The Change.org petition is calling for L.A. City Councilman Marqueece Harris-Dawson to help push the effort to rename the intersection of Crenshaw Boulevard and Slauson Avenue as "Nipsey Hussle Blvd."
The petition, which was launched Monday, gained more than 340,000 signatures by Wednesday night.
Hussle, whose real name is Ermias Joseph Asghedom, was fatally shot Sunday in the 3400 block of West Slauson Avenue. An autopsy performed Monday determined Hussle was shot in the head and torso, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner.
The Grammy-nominated rapper was gunned down outside The Marathon Clothing, a store he opened in 2017, in the Hyde Park neighborhood – just south of the Crenshaw area where he was born and grew up. It was one of the most recent ventures he was involved in to give back to his community.
RELATED: 'He Came Back To Help Out': Rapper Nipsey Hussle Was On Mission To Give Back Before Tragic Death
Besides opening the clothing store, Hussle had recently opened an apartment building for low-income families and a barbershop. Childhood friend Danielle Jakes said the world lost a good family man who was also incredibly talented.
"Most people who make it, they don't come back. He came back. He came back to help out," she said. "All that gang-banging stuff, that's craziness. Love. That's what he was, love."
A man suspected of murdering Hussle, 29-year-old Eric Holder, was taken into custody Tuesday. Holder is being held on $7 million bail.
Councilman Harris-Dawson has yet to publicly respond to the petition, but he has posted tributes on social media.