On a hot Sunday morning outside St. Mark AME, a strong gust of wind blew down a piece of fabric, revealing a blue street sign along West Atkinson Avenue that now honors the church's influential leader, Rev. Dr. Lovell Johnson Sr.
The accidental unveiling came a few minutes too early, but family, church members and faith leaders gathered on the block later laughed – it was a reminder that the late Johnson and his wife, Marguerite DeSleet Johnson, were still with them.
"They unveiled themselves; they will not be covered up. They will live in our hearts, in our dreams, in our aspirations," Clayborn Benson, founder and director of the Wisconsin Black Historical Society/Museum, said at the ceremony.
It meant a lot to see the community come together to honor his father, said Lovell Johnson Jr., now a deputy district attorney in Milwaukee. His parents first moved to the city to become leaders of St. Mark in 1964.
"But to tell you the truth," the younger Johnson said, "the church still talks about my father all the time."
That's because the Johnsons saved one of Wisconsin's oldest churches from going under. St. Mark AME, also known as the Church of the Anvil, was founded more than a century ago by Ezekiel Gillespie, who fought and successfully sued for Black men's right to vote in Wisconsin.
Speakers at the Aug. 16 event recounted how Johnson entered a congregation that had about $3,000 in the bank. The church was about to be torn down for an expressway. But under their leadership, there was never a year that fewer than 50 new members joined the church, Johnson Jr. said.
Johnson Sr. oversaw multiple relocations and paid off the mortgage seven years early. Beyond their religious roles, the Johnsons were civic leaders. St. Mark began tutoring programs, founded a credit union, opened low-income apartments for the elderly and began a discussion forum, according to Milwaukee historians.
"They worked together, and they were never in competition," Muriel Eckert Johnson said of her parents. "They served as a team in ministry. When one was successful, they both were successful."
The couple died in a plane crash in 1991 while on an evangelical mission near Mobile, Alabama.
"The person that we are honoring today believed in the human dignity of all people," Rev. Atticus Tyrone Taylor, Johnson's godson, said at the ceremony. "Not just within the community of faith, but also within the City of Milwaukee and the surrounding areas and beyond."
DeSleet Johnson was a "constant help-mate, wife extraordinaire and mother," her children wrote in the application for the honorary sign. She was the third Black educator hired in Des Moines schools and served in many volunteer roles, including the Milwaukee County Ethics Board.
Before leading St. Mark, Johnson Sr. was a message center chief and chaplain's assistant in the U.S. Armed Services and led AME churches in Detroit, Des Moines and Springfield, among others.
"The St. Mark AME Church became, long before the popularity of the 'mega churches,' a major meeting place and space," the siblings wrote in their application for the sign.
Along with Johnson, 50 Milwaukeeans – community figures, educators, religious leaders, elected officials and more – have been recognized with honorary street signs in the past two decades.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel highlighted many of their stories last year, including Johnson, whose sign was still in development. His name also graces the Johnson Quality of Life Center and the Johnson Legacy Apartments.
More: Signs of respect: Here are the stories of some 50 Milwaukeeans honored with street markers
More: How to apply for an honorary street sign in Milwaukee
"Their exemplary record of service to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and the nation remains as a tribute and legacy to their untiring service to humanity," Muriel and Lovell Johnson Jr. wrote in their application to the city June 17, 2024.
The Milwaukee Common Council and Mayor Cavalier Johnson signed off a few months later. A spokesperson for the Department of Public Works said the signs went up in December 2025 and explained ceremony decisions vary by family – some wait until a milestone birthday to hold the event.
The Aug. 16 ceremony was held after a 10 a.m. outdoor worship service and before a community block party that featured a pig roast, kid's activities and free haircuts.
The honorary sign process does not change official street names, which remain marked in green, allowing residents to keep their mailing addresses. Honorary signs are blue and typically hang above or below the official street placards. There are now several signs along North 16th Street near the church with Johnson's name.
Next to the intersection of West Atkinson Avenue and North 16th Street hangs another sign for William R. Stark, a longtime St. Mark member who also helped perform the first open heart surgery in Milwaukee. Stark's daughter and granddaughter were also in attendance Aug. 16.
Johnson's name is now also displayed across from the entrance of St. Mark – not just a church, but a home, many echoed.
"We all know signs can be torn down, streets can be renamed," Johnson Jr. said. "But the spirit of these people lives on."
Hope Karnopp can be reached at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Lovell Johnson, influential Milwaukee pastor, gets street sign honor