Detroit Baptist church leader Rev DeeDee Coleman reflects on her legacy as retirement nears

DETROIT (FOX 2) - Russell Street Missionary Baptist Church is the oldest church on Detroit’s north end.

The woman who has led this church for the past 25 years, Dr. Rev. DeeDee Coleman is about to retire. She sat down with FOX for a conversation about the barriers she’s broken in the church and what she wants her legacy to be.

"You might have something on a piece of paper you’re going to say. the Lord said, ‘No, you’re not, not in here. You’re going to preach what I tell you to preach.'"

Even on a Friday when Rev. DeeDee Coleman wears her robe, she can’t help but preach. It’s been in her blood since she was a youth growing up in New Orleans.

"One Sunday when I was so moved, I found myself standing and saying ‘Amen’ in the church," she said. "I must have been about 14 years old. I didn’t even know what hit me. I just stood up and said ‘Amen, reverend.’ He stopped. He stopped what he was doing and looked at me. And I sat down. I was embarrassed."

FOX 2: "Knowing what you know now, and the journey you’ve been on, what would you tell 14-year-old DeeDee?"

"Oh, I would tell her to stand up to the pastor," she said. "We were afraid, and I’m no longer afraid."

Pastor DeeDee moved to Detroit more than 30 years ago.

Dr. Rev. DeeDee Coleman 

In 1999, she became the first woman to be named senior pastor of Russell Street Missionary Baptist Church.

"First of all they had to get over the fact that I was a woman," she said. "They had never had a woman pastor and nowhere in the clergy was a woman."

During her time, Pastor DeeDee has been the first woman to lead the Council of Baptist Pastors.

She’s also launched food and prison ministries, and worked to improve relations between Black and Jewish communities.

After a long career, Pastor DeeDee says it’s time to retire because of her health.

"I figured it was time for me to retire for the church’s sake," she said. "So, I went into prayer. I told the church I was retiring. It was a strange thing. I went up to say something else and I said that."

Doctor Rev. DeeDee Coleman will be known as pastor emeritus after she retires. She plans to take time out to travel and see some family members.

Of course, she says she’ll have another conversation with God before she is called to her next chapter in life. 

Dr. Rev. DeeDee Coleman