MEMPHIS, August 18, 2026 - The Memphis City Council approved an honorary street name change designating Adams Avenue between North B.B. King Boulevard and Fourth Street as St. Peter Sam Avenue, in recognition of Samuel Henderson.
The resolution is sponsored by the Memphis City Council as a body. Members came down from the dais and read it aloud together in sections. It passed by acclamation with same night minutes.
What the resolution says he did
The filed resolution states that Samuel Henderson was formerly enslaved, a devoted member of St. Peter Catholic Church, a convert to Catholicism and a church handyman. It states that during the yellow fever epidemic that struck Memphis in 1878, which it says claimed an estimated 5,000 lives in the city and produced widespread illness, fear and lawlessness, he remained with the Dominican friars of St. Peter Catholic Church while many residents fled, providing comfort and care to the sick and dying, including many Irish and German immigrants.
It states he carried a lantern to illuminate the friars' nighttime visits and accompanied them as they ministered to those suffering from the fever, risking his own life through exposure to infection. It states he continued that work despite the dangers of disease and despite anti-Catholic and anti-immigrant prejudice and hostility directed toward freed Black individuals.
It further states that members of the Catholic community have initiated discussions to promote his consideration for sainthood.
The operative clause designates the stretch of Adams Avenue as honorarily known as St. Peter Sam Avenue and requests that the city engineer affix suitable signs designating the road.
What was said in the chamber
Councilman J. Ford Canale, who brought the resolution to the Planning and Zoning Committee earlier the same day, said the story was brought to his attention by a judge and that he had no idea about it beforehand. He said it was meaningful to him for a variety of reasons and that special people in the city's history who have not received the recognition they deserve will now be recognized in a meaningful way.
The pastor of St. Peter Church told the Council that Samuel Henderson, known throughout the city as St. Peter Sam, remained in Memphis and risked his own life alongside the Dominican priests as they cared for the sick and dying. He said the Dominicans and parishioners have remained committed to downtown Memphis for more than 180 years, and that naming a street for Henderson is a fitting tribute to a man who walked the streets of the city in humble and courageous service.
A judge who spoke after him said she joined St. Peter Parish in 2007 and had never heard the story of St. Peter Sam until recently, and that seeing him honored at last is very special to her.
The Chairwoman noted for the record that item 2 carried same night minutes.
What happens next
The resolution was adopted with same night minutes and takes effect accordingly. It requests that the city engineer affix signs designating Adams Avenue between North B.B. King Boulevard and Fourth Street as St. Peter Sam Avenue. No installation date was set.
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