Detroit’s City Council chose five legendary Detroiters whose names will adorn street signs throughout the city.
After a public hearing, lengthy public comment during Tuesday’s formal session and three rounds of voting, the following legacies are set to be honored from a list of 20 new and returning nominees:
Returning nominees: Martha Jean “The Queen” Steinberg, Andrew L. Starks Sr. and Ernest Harden Jr.
Steinberg was among the nominees who received the most support from attendees at both the public hearing and council session. Around twenty of the nearly 70 in-person and call-in commenters on Tuesday leant their voices for her during the 30 seconds they were limited to do so. Many in person supporters came armed with decorated handfans they waved silently whenever she was mentioned.
Supporters spoke about the Black radio pioneer’s generational impact and commitment to the city through outreach, mentoring, and more. This included her 48-hour radio broadcast during the 1967 rebellion, something more than one community member has credited with saving the city — and themselves.
“If it wasn’t for the Queen, I swear to God, I don’t know where I’d be, because her leadership and the way she taught me how to learn to love God for myself is the only reason why I’m standing here today at 56 years old,” said speaker Rico Jackson.
Tyrone Jackson, who noted Steinberg’s history of working with city officials to improve Detroit, said he couldn’t think of, “a more fitting and more honorable way” to thank Steinberg for “all that she’s done for all of us.”
Steinberg’s sign will be at the intersection of Monica Street and Grand River Avenue in District 7.
A military veteran and one of the first Black pilots licensed at Detroit City Airport, Rose Jones had been neighbors with Starks since April 1989. She said she has watched the centenarian seek to improve and sustain his community for decades.
Starks helped foster generational wealth and homeownership in his community amid the “white flight” of the 1970s. He did this by buying vacant properties, and selling them below-market to new homeowners.
“We often look for heroes in the midst of us. Mr. Starks is a gentle giant and quiet mover, a sterling example of everyday heroes,” Jones said during the Oct. 23 public hearing. “… Mr. Starks never sought accolades or attention, but was pleased to be a testament for us of hope, resilience and fortitude, which we all wish that all Detroit residents would strive to imitate.”
Starks’ sign will be at the intersection of St. Patrick and Gunston avenues in District 4.
Starks and fellow awardee Ernest Harden Jr. are the only recipients this year who have lived to see their names chosen.
It took two rounds of run-off voting to secure Harden Jr. his spot. The 73-year-old actor, who has been lauded for his Emmy Award-winning role in the medical drama “The Pitt,” has been appearing in classic TV shows and movies for decades. This includes The Jeffersons, Taxi Driver, White Men Can’t Jump, among others. According to official committee documents, Harden Jr. also supported arts programming and took part in mentorship here in Detroit as well.
Harden Jr.’s sign will be at the intersection of St. Aubin and Cody streets in District 3.
First-time applicants: Tyrone Winfrey Sr. and Luther “Bad Man” Keith
Education advocate Tyrone Winfrey Sr. and award-winning Detroit News reporter Luther “Badman” Keith will also get signs. Winfrey and Keith were nominated for the first time this year.
Detroit resident and former Detroit police commissioner William Davis offered his support for Keith Tuesday alongside another nominee, calling him an outstanding Detroiter and saying that his effect on the community will live on. Keith’s work, he said, was “outstanding” and continued until the day that he died.
Edwina King, an associate director in legislative affairs and equitable development for the city, called in a personal capacity to lend her support to Winfrey. King said the work Winfrey performed for youth and families in education and public service — including through the Detroit Public School Community District, the University of Michigan and Greater Grace Temple, where he served as deacon — reflects a life dedicated to making a difference.
“A secondary street sign (for Winfrey) is more than just a sign,” she said. “it’s a symbol of gratitude, a testament of service.”
Those signs will be located at the intersection of Pickford and Indiana avenues in District 3 and Livernois Avenue and Eight Mile, respectively.
The sign selections come as some council members raise the prospect of amending the selection process going forward. Council Member Latisha Johnson recently proposed a pause in secondary street signs for 2027 to consider changes, including options to reduce the bottleneck of applicants for just a handful of annual signs.
Also honored at the meeting was the legacy of Dr. Janese Champman, the former leader of the Detroit Historic Advisory Board and a “shepherd of the process.” The former Secondary Street Sign manager died suddenly earlier this year, and was honored by Council President James Tate during the meeting for her “thumbprint” on the process.
“We just want to again lift her name up, her memory. And who knows? Maybe in a couple years we will have her being considered (for a secondary street sign) as well,” Tate said.
Many attendees of Tuesday’s meeting echoed concerns raised by Johnson, expressing discontent with the selection process, including the shortened public comment time and the volume of nominees. Also voicing issues was Council President Pro Tempore Coleman A. Young II, who said he took issue with certain parts of the rigid ordinance, like the five-year limit for nominees to be carried over if they are not selected.
Johnson, chair of the subcommittee that handles the public hearings for secondary street sign nominations, assured Young and residents that a push for changes was already in the works. Council is currently considering a pause on accepting new applications for 2027 to allow time to consider the current rollover applicants, as well as possible amendments to the process.
“We are, as a matter of fact, looking to amend the process, hopefully, to make it a little easier on us and a little easier on you (residents) as we continue to move forward, because there are so many people who deserve a secondary street sign throughout the city of Detroit,” Johnson said.
