Adolph “Young Dolph” Thornton Jr. Avenue was unveiled in Memphis on Wednesday.
Young Dolph’s family was on hand for a ceremony to rename a street in his honor. The street sign is located in the Castalia Heights community where he grew up in Memphis.
“This is just an illustration of the great work Adolph did within this community,” his girlfriend Mia Jaye said at the ceremony. “It just allows for us to continue to see his legacy visually although we know we are going to continue to carry it out.”
Mia Jaye, the mother of Young Dolph’s two children, said she wants the sign to become a source of inspiration.
“Every time each and every person drives by the sign, they see Adolph Robert Thornton Jr.,” she told those in attendance. “When you see that name [I hope] that you’re inspired to just make a difference and to just make a change, a small change in giving and loving and just being a better person for the betterment of this community.”
Young Dolph was shot and killed at a Memphis bakery on November 17. Two masked gunmen were spotted in surveillance footage, but police have made no arrests in the case.
A public memorial for Young Dolph will be held at the FedExForum in Memphis on December 16. He was laid to rest at a private funeral on November 30.
