Large crowds packed the Detroit City Council chamber on Tuesday, Oct. 28, advocating for a secondary street sign to be named after dozens of impressive Detroit figures, including an award-winning former Detroit Free Press photographer.
More than 100 people showed up to council Tuesday — in person or virtually — advocating for community figures such as former City Council member the Rev. JoAnn Watson and Mudgie’s Deli founder Gregory Mudge, among others, who devoted their time to enhance Detroit’s vibrant communities, as candidates deserving a street sign. The council received 23 applications and ultimately voted for five individuals, ending the fifth spot in tie-breaker vote among five candidates — one of which was former Free Press photographer Tony Spina.
New signs will be dedicated for Watson, Mudge, Viola Liuzzo, Kem Owens and Imam Abdullah El-Amin.
A cut out of the late Greg Mudge sits on a ledge as Detroit City Council holds a vote to decide honorary secondary street names for legendary Detroiters at the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center on Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025 which included Mudge the late owner of Mudgie’s Deli and Wine Shop in Corktown.
Zarina El-Amin, daughter of El-Amin, who held up a sign with her last name among a group of supporters, said it was “absolutely amazing” to see dozens of in-person and virtual comments supporting her father.
“My father was one of those men of action where when you see something, take care of it,” El-Amin said. “Woodrow Wilson (Street) and Davison (Avenue), that intersection became our second home. My father was with a group of young men and they went around looking for a place to house, to home the Detroit Muslim community. Then they found that abandoned bank building on the corner of Woodrow Wilson and Davison, and a lot of people would’ve said, ‘This is an old, dirty, abandoned bank building.’ But they saw a place that could become a refuge, a place that could become a beacon of hope, of light and of faith, and that’s what they built.”
The Muslim Center is not only for Muslims, she added. Her father, she said, helped build it as a place that could serve “as a center of hope,” adding that he represents community, togetherness and love for humanity.
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“When there’s so many people from outside that talk about the fact that he impacted their life in big, big ways, I’m humbled,” El-Amin said.
Location of signs
The Rev. JoAnn Watson, who died in 2023, had a strong showing of support during Tuesday’s meeting. Watson sat on the Reparations Task Force and was executive director of the NAACP Detroit Branch, becoming the first woman to lead the branch. She also served on the Detroit City Council and drafted countless laws, which included a ban on smoking in public places and a water affordability plan to help low-income residents.
The sign honoring Watson will be at the intersection of Lindwood and Tuxedo streets.
Mudge’s supporters waved image cutouts of his face on Tuesday to support the founder and owner of Mudgie’s Deli in Corktown. The restaurant, which opened in 2008, has received numerous awards, but Mudge was known for hiring locally and bringing in younger staff to work in his restaurant. He also developed a program to help feed the homeless, where customers purchased a $5 token to give to a homeless individual, who could then redeem it for a sandwich, bag of chips and drink.
The sign honoring Mudge will be at the intersection of Brooklyn and Porter streets.
Liuzzo grew up as a white civil rights activist, witnessing racial injustices while attending segregated schools in the Jim Crow South, shaping her dedication toward fighting for social justice. She drew inspiration from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech to join the Selma to Montgomery marches in Alabama. While driving activists between cities, Liuzzo was killed by members of the Ku Klux Klan after the march.
The sign honoring Liuzzo will be at Pembroke Avenue and Mansfield Street.
Kem Owens grew from a past of facing homelessness and addiction, into a multi-Grammy nominated singer and songwriter who later emerged into an R&B pillar in Motown. He also established the Mack & Third Inc. nonprofit, which aims to support initiatives ranging from homelessness, hunger, substance abuse and domestic violence.
The sign honoring Owens will be at Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Third Avenue.
Imam Abdullah El-Amin engaged with people of various faiths to promote inclusion while running the Muslim Center in Detroit. He was born as RasBerry Holland III in Little Rock, Arkansas, to Christian parents and converted to Islam in 1976, leading him into a new world of faith as a leader in Michigan’s Muslim, Black and interfaith communities. El-Amin spoke up on civil rights and social issues in an effort to fight for justice.
Zariah EL-Amin, daughter of Imam Abdullah EL-Amin celebrates as Detroit City Council holds a vote to decide honorary secondary street names for legendary Detroiters at the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center on Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025. The new inductees voted for are Detroiters Kem Owens, Viola Liuzzo, Imam Abdullah EL-Amin, JoAnn Watson and Greg Mudge.
The sign honoring El-Amin will be at Woodrow Wilson Street and Davison Avenue.
Several family members and Detroit Free Press employees sought council support to name a street after Tony Spina, who started at the Free Press in 1946 as a staff photographer, later named as chief photographer in 1952 and made his way up as a special assistant to the managing editor in 1986. The council received at least a dozen letters and public comments to support naming the sign on Lafayette Boulevard and Cass Avenue — the intersection near the former Detroit Free Press building, 321 Lafayette — after Spina, who died in 1995.
However, the council faced a tie for at least five candidates, including Spina, whose petition did not make the cut. His daughters, Julia Spina-Kilar and Kathryn Spina Giles, highlighted his legacy to council members in an effort to get their vote.
“My father had a great love for Detroit and Detroiters, regardless of race, color, creed or pol affiliation. He viewed Detroit as a city that held great wonder and nothing gave him more pleasure than discovering and documenting that wonder with his photographs on a daily basis. It would be so exciting for both my mom and dad if they knew he was being considered for a street sign in the city that he loved and flourished,” Spina Giles said.
Spina “had job offers from Hollywood to (Washington) D.C., but he was devoted to Detroit and he never left. He bloomed where he was planted for 44 years, right here in Detroit, the city he loved. Tony would be thrilled beyond belief to have a street sign in his name,” Spina-Kilar said.
Those who did not receive council support have the opportunity to rollover their application next year for another chance.
Dana Afana is the Detroit city hall reporter for the Free Press. Contact: [email protected]. Follow her: @DanaAfana.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit City Council OKs five to receive street sign in their name
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