People visiting downtown Grand Rapids for ArtPrize may be interested to know that the subject of the towering mural on Monroe Avenue NW is a towering figure in the city’s history.
Ethel B. Coe is now memorialized in a vibrant mural tucked along Monroe Avenue NW — fittingly located on the alley that bears her name, Ethel B. Coe Way. Painted on the side of one of the city’s beloved music venues— GLC Live at 20 Monroe, the mural celebrates a woman whose life was rooted in music, activism, and public service.
Born in Falls Church, Virginia, in 1899 — just 30 years after the Civil War — Coe moved to Grand Rapids at age eight. Her sense of justice appeared early: while a student at South High School, she successfully challenged a local business in a civil rights case after being denied service at an ice cream parlor. It was a quiet but powerful act of defiance that foreshadowed her lifelong commitment to advocacy.
Throughout her decades in Grand Rapids, Coe became a force for equity, deeply involved with the NAACP, the Urban League, and the Family Life Council. She was also a gifted artist, performing for over 40 years with the Grand Rapids Civic Theatre and the St. Cecilia Music Society. Even at 68, she continued giving back — volunteering across the U.S. and abroad to teach English to Latino and Vietnamese children.
Ethel B. Lee Coe died in 1988, but her legacy lives on — not just in paint and pavement, but through the Giants Ethel Coe Humanities Award, which honors individuals who, like her, uplift the community through art and activism.
