Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop's chief of staff gave a speech at a Chicago college nearly 20 years ago in which he "repeatedly" used a homophobic slur, called the Pope the "Antichrist" and said that "all white people have a little Hitler in them," according to a contemporaneous newspaper account.

Muhammed Akil, who was about 25 at the time, was speaking at Northwestern University at an African Mind Liberation Conference held by the school's black student alliance, according to copies of the Daily Northwestern obtained by The Jersey Journal.

It's not clear from the story whether Akil was a student then. He studied for a doctorate in communication studies at Northwestern, but did not receive the degree. A story in the student newspaper of South Illinois University says he gave a similar talk there in 1998.

A source close to the mayor said Fulop's office has known about the newspaper's account of Akil's speech and have been worried about it becoming public. Fulop denied that claim today, saying he found out about the speech when The Jersey Journal asked him about it.

Akil declined to comment, referring all questions to city spokeswoman Jennifer Morrill.

Asked about Akil's speech, Fulop also referred all questions to Morrill, who later emailed a statement from the mayor saying he "doesn't agree" with Akil's remarks.

"Personally, as the grandson of Holocaust survivors myself, they are offensive," he said. "However, I also know people change and grow over time and the comments made 20 years ago is not consistent nor reflective of the person I have known for the last 10 years who has never hesitated to help people in need whether white, black, Jewish, Catholic, gay or straight."

The initial Daily Northwestern story about Akil's speech ran on Nov. 14, 1995, under the headline, "FMO speaker decries whites." FMO refers to For Members Only, the university's black student alliance.

According to the Daily Northwestern, Akil was speaking on the topic "Decoding White Supremacy: Reading Destructive Images." He slammed white representations of Jesus, calling them the "fa---t Jesus," the paper reported. He repeatedly called gay people "fa---ts" and blasted Abraham Lincoln as a "wolf in sheep's clothing," according to the paper.

He also told the crowd that "all white people have a little Hitler in them," the paper said.

The Daily Northwestern printed a follow-up story, an editorial and letters to the editor the following day blasting Akil for what the newspaper's editors called a "horrible" speech.

Akil holds a powerful position at City Hall, where all the city's department heads report to him. He earns $120,544 annually, one of the highest salaries for a civilian city worker.

A former health department supervisor, he was promoted to chief of staff after Fulop became mayor. Two sources who asked not to be identified discussing personnel moves said Akil was the hand-picked choice of Tom Bertoli, a political operative who helped to engineer Fulop's mayoral victory. Fulop said that is "factually inaccurate," adding that Akil was his choice and his alone.

Akil is a key political player. He and Eugene McKnight ran the campaigns of Fulop allies Diane Coleman, a councilwoman representing Ward F, and Gerard Balmir, a freeholder candidate who successfully challenged Freeholder Jeff Dublin in June's Democratic primary.

For all his power, Akil is an elusive presence. The Friday before Fulop became mayor last year, Akil told The Jersey Journal he had no interest in ever speaking to the newspaper, and has remained tight-lipped when approached by reporters.

Terrence T. McDonald may be reached at tmcdonald@jjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @terrencemcd. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook.