Chestnut Street renamed for Michael S. Hinson, Jr., activist, advocate and leader

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ABOVE PHOTO: Photos courtesy of Progressive Images Marketing Communications.

By Marilyn Kai Jewett

Nearly 150 people recently gathered at the corner of 12th & Chestnut Streets on Juneteenth to celebrate the renaming of the 1200 block of Chestnut Street in memory of the late Michael S. Hinson, Jr., renowned activist, advocate, and leader who spent decades working to improve the lives of Philadelphia’s LGBTQ+ and homeless communities. The diverse crowd attending the street renaming to Michael S. Hinson, Jr. Way, was a testimony to the life-changing work that he accomplished during his 55 years on Earth.

State Sen. Sharif Street speaks at the podium; Councilmember Mark Squilla is seated on stage.
Photos courtesy of Progressive Images Marketing Communications.

At the time of his death in 2022, Hinson was president and CEO of SELF, Inc., which worked to reduce homelessness as the city’s largest provider of emergency/transitional housing. As CEO, he eliminated SELF’s deficit and doubled the budget. One of Hinson’s most important projects was establishing a fund to bury the cremains of homeless people who died, and whose remains were left unclaimed. He also developed A Way Home, a transitional housing program for LGBTQ+ people, in partnership with the William Way Center. SELF, Inc., also has named its new social resource center The Mike Hinson Resource Center to honor the legacy of its former CEO.

This street renaming was unlike any other in the city. The program, which ran over an hour, opened with a libation poured in the Yoruba tradition of West Africa by Baba Okewa Garrett and a sacred drum salute led by Iya Olufemi, to pay homage to the Orisa Sango. A man of strong faith, Hinson was a well-respected priest of Sango for over 30 years. As a priest, Hinson worked with other faith-based organizations on issues affecting the Black community.

The program included comments from Councilmember Mark Squilla, who introduced the City Council resolution for the renaming that passed unanimously. State Sen. Sharif Street, Councilmember Rue Landau, and Celena Morrison-McLean, the city’s current executive director of LGBTQ+ Affairs, joined Squilla in praising Hinson for his dedication and accomplishments in unselfishly serving the community over the years. Several outstanding performances in honor of Hinson were also included in the ceremony. Friends and colleagues continued celebrating the street renaming with a fabulous reception that included the V. Shayne Frederick Jazz Trio and a moving dance performance by Ny’Mir Norman at the William Way Center.

Many gathered to celebrate and honor the memory of Michael J. Hinson Jr. at his 12th & Chestnut Street renaming. Photos courtesy of Progressive Images Marketing Communications.

A native of South Carolina, Hinson arrived in Philadelphia in the 1980s. He was a gifted dancer, who spent time studying and dancing with the iconic Arthur Hall Afro-American Dance Ensemble and Philadanco. However, Hinson’s destiny became clear and his focus changed when in 1986, he attended an AIDS candlelight vigil and was struck by the words of Rashidah Abdul-Kabeeer, who became his mentor. As a result, he became fully committed to working towards Black empowerment in the AIDS community and addressing the lack of support for Black people suffering from HIV/AIDS. He became a volunteer with BEBASHI, one of the first Black AIDS organizations in the nation, and developed lifelong associations with AIDS activists Tyrone Smith and David Fair.

In the 1990s, Hinson became a leader in the movement when he founded COLOURS Magazine, that evolved into an organization focused on empowerment for the Black and Latinx LGBTQ+ communities. He co-founded Philly Black Gay Pride and the Black Gay Men’s Leadership Council. During this time, he was called to the Yoruba spiritual tradition, becoming a priest with many godchildren.

Longtime LGBTQ+ activist Tyrone Smith, founder of Unity, Inc., a North Philadelphia grassroots, social service organization led by Black gay men for Black gay men, reflected on his decades-long comradeship with Hinson.

“Mike Hinson and I came together during the crises of AIDS and HIV in the city of Philadelphia. But we moved past that. We were becoming political,” Smith said.

Under Smith’s leadership, Unity Inc. organized the Black LGBTQ+ community to support John Street’s first candidacy for mayor.

“We helped to get John F. Street elected,” Smith recounted. “Michael Hinson founded the COLOURS organization. We were more teammates than competitors because we did what we had to do. I thank God for all of those poured into us who brought us along the way.

Michael and I were able to come together to do the work that was assigned to us. I believe that the work that both of us did was an assignment from the Creator and for that I am eternally grateful. I miss Michael. I’m so grateful that the Creator chose us to work together to do what we’ve been blessed to do. Ashe!”

Hinson became the City of Philadelphia’s first director of LGBTQ+ affairs. In 2000, then-Mayor John Street appointed him as his liaison to the LGBTQ+ community and a policy advisor. This historic position led Hinson to become a national leader for organizing Black LGBTQ+ communities through the Center for Black Equity, where he served as board chair, program and policy director.

In addition to his work as an advocate, Hinson was an adjunct professor in Cheyney University’s public administration department and was working towards his doctorate in public administration at the time of his death. The city’s Office of LGBT Affairs’ LGBTQ+ Leadership Pipeline, which aims to increase the number of LGBTQ+ candidates in board leadership positions for nonprofits and social-impact organizations, has been renamed the Michael S. Hinson, Jr. LGBTQ+ Leadership Pipeline. Earlier this year, the Michael Hinson Justice Institute was established to train marginalized LGBTQ+ people of color to become politically engaged.

The spirit of Baba Michael S. Hinson, Jr. lives on through the organizations and programs that now bear his name and his accomplishments on behalf of the countless people he touched in Philadelphia and beyond.

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