The City Council speaker is facing a racial rebellion over a proposal to rename a Brooklyn street after a black activist, Sonny Carson.

In a rare show of public dissent in City Hall’s council chambers, 15 council members defied Christine Quinn, the powerful speaker who is known for her ability to stamp out divergent views behind closed doors, voting to return Carson’s name to a list of 51 new street and intersection names under consideration by the council. Seven members abstained and 25 voted against the amendment.

Ms. Quinn is opposed to the proposal to name parts of Gates Avenue in Brooklyn after Carson, and said the activist, who died in 2002, had a long history of making divisive and “anti-white” statements.

Fourteen of the 15 voting to return Carson to the street renaming list are members of the Black, Latino, and Asian Caucus. Council Member Tony Avella of Queens, who is running for mayor, was the only non-caucus member to vote for the amendment. Supporters of the Carson street name say it is really a debate about the right of a community to choose its own heroes.

The failed amendment could take on broader significance as Ms. Quinn readies for a likely mayoral run. Carson supporters booed Ms. Quinn repeatedly during the meeting and shouted over her when she spoke to explain her vote. They said Ms. Quinn’s stance on Carson Avenue will be remembered when she starts campaigning.

“You’ve divided us more than Sonny Carson,” a council member of Brooklyn, Charles Barron, a former Black Panther, said yesterday, facing Ms. Quinn and raising his voice during what many said was one of the most tense and emotional council meetings in recent years. “I’m not letting you off the hook.”

Two prominent members of the council who are black, Leroy Comrie of Queens and Letitia James of Brooklyn, abstained from the vote, drawing criticism and sneers from Carson supporters. Ms. Quinn hosted a fund-raiser for Mr. Comrie yesterday and Ms. James is a close ally of the speaker’s.

Ms. Quinn appeared steely during the meeting, saying with a steady voice that Carson never apologized for his statements or his actions, which included leading racially charged protests. Mayor Bloomberg said this week that the Carson street-naming proposal is one of the worst ideas anyone in the council has had in recent memory.

Carson was arrested on charges related to a murder in the 1970s and was later sentenced to seven years in prison for kidnapping.