Title
Vernell Myers Coleman Ceremonial Street Name Signage
Description
Request City Council approval to install ceremonial street name signage recognizing Vernell Myers Coleman at the intersection of 7th Avenue and Buckeye Road.
Report
Summary
Vernell Myers Coleman (Aug. 28, 1918 - March 27, 1990) first moved to Phoenix from Henderson, Texas, in 1938 and returned in 1944. Mrs. Coleman, along with her children, moved into the City's Matthew Henson Housing Project in 1945.
Mrs. Coleman made numerous contributions to the City of Phoenix and community. One of the most notable achievements of her historical influence was the revival of the Juneteenth Celebration in Phoenix. June 19, 1865, also known as Juneteenth, commemorates the day when black slaves in Texas first learned about the Emancipation Proclamation that Abraham Lincoln had signed two and a half years earlier. Phoenix's first Juneteenth occurred in 1911 after a visit by Booker T. Washington, with smaller celebrations held through the mid-1940s. In 1968, as head of the Matthew Henson Tenants' Council, Mrs. Coleman renewed the Juneteenth celebration in Phoenix. Held at Dunbar School, residents of the housing project cooked food, and the young people played a baseball game against the police team. She worked to make Juneteenth a multi-racial event for all to enjoy, while ensuring black people learned their history. Juneteenth Tradition, Inc., a nonprofit corporation developed under Mrs. Coleman's guidance, raised scholarship money for underprivileged students. Mrs. Coleman served as the honorary chairperson of the organization until shortly before her death.
Mrs. Coleman became an advocate for her fellow tenants at the Matthew Henson Housing Project. She organized a tenants' council, which addressed substandard living conditions, and the surge of crime and violence in the community. During the late 1960s, as a member of the Matthew Henson Anti-Crime Committee, Mrs. Coleman was instrumental in toppling barriers between community and police, which led to improved police services and decreased crime in the area. In the 1970s, she organized a tenant strike; residents refused to pay rent without basic improvements, such as the installation of cabinet doors, linoleum tile, and ventilation ducts. The strike was a success and appropriate changes were made to residents' apartments. Mrs. Coleman served as president of the tenants' council for ten years, becoming known as the "Mayor of Projects."
Mrs. Coleman was active outside of the Matthew Henson area as well. She served as a commissioner of the Leadership and Education of the Advancement of Phoenix (LEAP) for three years during the 1960s. She was a member of the Board of Directors of the Phoenix Urban League and the City of Phoenix Housing Advisory Board. She also served as both the chairwoman and treasurer for the Phoenix Human Resources Council.
In the late 1970s, Mrs. Coleman began preparing healthy dinners for the elderly in her housing project. Mrs. Coleman was instrumental in helping to organize the St. Mary's Food Bank with Founder John Van Hengel, and she served on the board for several years. She also expanded her meal service and continued to cook every Wednesday for the program through 1982.
As a member of First Institutional Baptist Church, Mrs. Coleman was on the Pastor's Aide Committee where she continued to utilize her celebrated organizational, fundraising, and cooking skills. Alongside her long-time friend Hallie Anderson and other women on the committee, Mrs. Coleman worked diligently to raise funds to pay off the church's deed. They did this by selling dinners from Mrs. Coleman's kitchen and holding rummage sales with quality merchandise that she solicited from department stores such as Goldwater's, JCPenney, Diamond's, etc. The church's Deed of Reconveyance was secured under the ministry of the late Robert N. Nesby.
For more than 40 years, Vernell Coleman diligently worked to improve the lives of the poor in Phoenix. She also campaigned for the Seventh Avenue Clinic, which provided free podiatry to the elderly and handicapped.
Despite being confined by her arthritis to crutches or a wheelchair, she stayed busy guiding various committees, talking with politicians, and working with her neighbors. She gave endlessly of herself, not for recognition, but out of a sincere desire to improve conditions in her community.
Vernell Coleman's many works did not go unnoticed. Between 1971 and 1988, she received numerous awards and honors from the State of Arizona, the City of Phoenix, businesses, and social organizations. In 1974, the Greyhound Corporation named her Phoenix Woman of the Year. The Spiritual Assembly of the Bahai's of Phoenix in 1979 presented her with the first Willie L. Robertson Memorial Human Rights award for her efforts in finding housing for the poor, while encouraging youth to continue their education. To honor her years of volunteer work, Luke's Men of St. Luke's Medical Center and KPNX-TV of Phoenix gave her the 10th Annual Hon Kachina award. The following year she was named Woman of Distinction by the Women of Achievement group, a coalition of the Junior League of Phoenix, Meyer Inc., and Soroptimist International of Phoenix. In 1988, Mrs. Coleman received the Spirit of Arizona award for serving her community in extraordinary ways. In 1990, she was inducted into the Arizona Women's Hall of Fame.
The Vernell Coleman Youth Recreation Center (830 W. Tonto St.) is named in honor of Mrs. Coleman.
The ceremonial street name signs will be mounted on the mast arms of the northeast and southwest traffic signal poles at 7th Avenue and Buckeye Road. See Attachment A for an illustration of the proposed signs.
Financial Impact
The fabrication and installation costs of the ceremonial signs will be funded by the Mayor's Office and Council District 8.
Location
7th Avenue and Buckeye Road
Council District: 8
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Deputy City Manager Alan Stephenson and the Street Transportation Department.