Detroit Post Office Renamed to Honor the Late Aretha Franklin

Detroit is honoring Aretha Franklin by renaming a library after the late Queen of Soul.

On Monday, Franklin’s family joined local leadership and postal service officials to celebrate the Aretha Franklin Post Office Building to honor the “Respect” singer. It was formerly known as the Fox Creek Station Post Office. U.S. Rep. Brenda Lawrence, a longtime postal service worker and friend of Miss Franklin, spoke during the ceremony. 

“Her legacy lives on in her music, in her family. But we have added to that list of her legacy, a post office with her name on it,” she stated. Lawrence is the one who introduced the initiative to change the post office name. Former President Donald Trump signed the legislation in January, which quickly got the green light from Congress.

Other attendees to the renaming ceremony included Senator Gary Peters, sons Edward Franklin and Kecalf Franklin, and Senator Debbie Stabenow.

The beloved soul singer passed away of Pancreatic cancer in 2018 at age 76 at her Detroit home. Her legendary career was marked by civil rights activism and a flurry of classic hit records such as “I Say a Little Prayer” and “Think.”

This is just the latest move to honor Franklin. In August, her long-awaited biopic starring Jennifer Hudson hit theaters to instant success. Franklin personally requested that Hudson portray her in the powerful film before her death.