Honorary street signs for Davis, Dennis and Hamilton
Free Press staff report | 5/11/2023, 6 p.m.
Over the coming weeks, three Richmonders will receive posthumous recognition for their contributions to the civic, religious and business life of the city.
Richmond’s 3rd District Councilwoman Ann-Frances Lambert will host an honorary street naming ceremony at noon Friday, May 12, in the 4300 block of Corbin Street, which has been designated to honor the late Juliette Stephens Hamilton.
Mrs. Hamilton worked with the Richmond Police Department as a school crossing guard and as a nurse’s aide at Richmond Memorial Hospital between 1955 and 1961. She received a degree in elementary education from Virginia State College for Negroes (now Virginia State University), later returning to enroll in a licensed practical nursing program and graduating in the top five in her class in 1962. For the next 20 years, Mrs. Hamilton worked as an LPN. She was a faithful member at Second Baptist Church and remained active in various civic organizations throughout her life, passing away at the age of 104 on Nov. 8, 2022.
The ceremony Councilwoman Lambert will host at the 900 and 1000 blocks of Overbrook Road at noon Wednesday, May 17, will honor Langston R. Davis Sr., who was president and chief executive officer of Richmond-based Davis Brothers Construction Co.
Mr. Davis, who built the family-owned and operated firm into one of the region’s largest Black-owned commercial contractors, died Sunday, July 17, 2022, at age 80.
As commercial contractors, the company was involved in construction projects from Washington, D.C., to Georgia, including the Greater Richmond Convention Center, Richmond International Airport, the Altria Theater and the State Capitol.
The final ceremony will take place 1 p.m. Friday, May 26, on the portion of East Charity Street located between its intersections with North 1st Street and North 2nd Street. The block designated to honor the late Rev. Kenneth E. Dennis Sr. is just in front of Greater Mt. Moriah Baptist Church where he was pastor for nearly 34 years.
Rev. Dennis was a native of Miami, but he graduated from Virginia Union University and became a leader in Richmond’s religious life. In addition to serving Greater Mt. Moriah Baptist Church, he acted as a grief counselor and chaplain for the city’s police department, taught classes as an adjunct instructor at VUU, and co-hosted the television program “Focus on Black Religious Life” for 15 years. Rev. Dennis died Feb. 18, 2021 at the age of 65.