A couple of hundred onlookers gathered for the dedication at the corner, where Gaye’s onetime home sat as a backdrop.
The ceremonial naming was spearheaded by Detroit City Councilman Roy McAlister and approved earlier this year by the council.
Gaye’s groundbreaking “What’s Going On” was the dominant theme at the Juneteenth event, which included speeches by McAlister, Mayor Mike Duggan, U.S.
“To be here on this day is just a beautiful thing,” said Gay, who was just a year old when “What’s Going On” was released in 1971.
As the soon-to-be-revealed blue street sign stood draped behind him, Duggan recounted traveling this stretch of Outer Drive frequently in his teens, when he attended nearby Catholic Central High School.
For Detroiters four years after the ’67 riots, “What’s Going On” had a special resonance, Duggan said, and its calls for peace connected with young people concerned about war in Vietnam.
Lawrence marveled that just 48 hours earlier, she’d been in the White House for the signing ceremony that enacted Juneteenth as a federal holiday.
Saturday’s street-naming ceremony, organized by the Motown Museum, was the latest in an ongoing 50th-anniversary commemoration of Gaye’s 1971 classic, which kicked off with Michigan Gov.
Their tour included an emotional, soul-stirring finale.
Just like last month when public visitors were treated to the same thrill as part of a 50th anniversary event, the moment was hushed and solemn.
The group then headed down the West Grand Boulevard sidewalk for a look at the museum’s new mile-long walking installation, “Still Going On,” a series of stations with historical and timely photographs, along with messages tied to Gaye’s 1971 album.