Longtime Detroit businessman, youth advocate and organizer of Metro Detroit Youth Day Ed Deeb has died. He organized the event as a response to deadly confrontations between young people and store owners in the summer of 1980.

In a 2014 interview with WDET’s Pat Batcheller, Deeb says then-Mayor Coleman Young called him and other business leaders into a meeting to address the violence.  

”And he pointed his finger to me and said, he said, ‘Ed, What are you guys going to do next year to prevent this from happening again?’ And I was shocked. He as pointing at me in front of all these people. And I said, ‘Mr. Mayor, are you talking to me or everybody in the room?’ He said, ‘ Well I’m talking to everybody, but I want you to carry the ball’.”

Since then, Metro Detroit Youth Day has become an annual event, drawing thousands of kids to Belle Isle every summer. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources honored Ed Deeb in 2018 by naming a road on the island after him. Deeb died Tuesday at home. He was 89.  

Additional headlines for Thursday, September 4, 2025

Applications open for Neighborhood Beautification program

Detroit also announced the opening of applications for round 6 of the Neighborhood Beautification program. The program provides grants ranging from $500 to $15,000 to block clubs, neighborhood associations, nonprofits, and faith-based organizations to create community gardens, improve public spaces, and launch neighborhood programming.

Film outreach event

City of Detroit’s Media Service Department will be hosting a Film Detroit community outreach event on September 10.

It’s an opportunity to for creatives to get their content broadcast on Detroit’s cable channels, navigate the city’s film permitting process, and network with fellow filmmakers. The event is open to all ages, independent filmmakers, and nonprofit or community groups.

Organizers note that the event is not intended for for-profit businesses looking to promote or sell products. The event will run from 4p.m. to 7p.m. at the A.B. Ford Community Center.  

45 years of Black Reading Month

September is Black Reading Month, a tradition started in Detroit in 1980 by activists wanting to celebrate and support Black authors, Black-owned bookstores, and Black stories.

This year marks the 45th anniversary.

The Charles H Wright Museum is hosting talks from authors and artists on Black history. Detroit Book City in Southfield, a Black-owned bookstore, is hosting “read-in” events throughout the month showcasing new books by Black authors. Or catch the Black Reading Month Bookfair on September 26 from 5p.m. to 9p.m. at Mama Imani Humphrey Hall in the Detroit Food Commons at 8324 Woodward Avenue.  

Listen to the latest episode of the “Detroit Evening Report” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

Longtime Detroit businessman and youth advocate Ed Deeb has died. The Michigan Youth Appreciation Foundation says the founder of Metro Detroit Youth Day passed away at home on Sept. 2, 2025. He was 89.

WDET’s Pat Batcheller was there when the Michigan Department of Natural Resources honored Deeb in 2018. Here’s Pat’s report.

The following story was originally published July 11, 2018.

Ed Deeb’s legacy lives on

Tensions were high in Detroit when a grocery store owner and two teenagers were killed in 1980. Then-Detroit Mayor Coleman Young called business leaders into his office, and challenged them to do something to keep young people out of trouble and ease the problems between retailers and the city’s youth. Ed Deeb was in that meeting. He founded the Michigan Food and Beverage Association. Deeb accepted Young’s challenge, and organized an event on Belle Isle. Since then, Metro Detroit Youth Day has become an annual rite of summer for thousands of kids across the city and the region. Deeb, who coached football at Eastern High School, says Belle Isle was a natural choice. 

Pat Batcheller

“We didn’t have a practice field for football. We came here to practice,” Deeb says. “So when they said, ‘where are we going to have this event?’, I said, ‘well, the only thing I could think of is the athletic field at Belle Isle. Nobody’s using it, and we practice there’—so we got the permission to have our first one there, and we did.”

Deeb was disappointed with the turnout for the first Youth Day, which drew about 1,200 people and a few local celebrities. It’s where a young Bruce Ross met his idol, Detroit Lions Hall of Famer Lem Barney. But Ross says Barney didn’t talk to him about football. Instead, he had message for Ross.

“You need to go to college. Make something of yourself,” Ross recalls. “So, Metro Detroit Youth Day has been more than just a fun event, it’s been an event that has reached out to me, have a college education.” 

Ross earned his degree from Wayne State University and now works with Ed Deeb as a Youth Day board member. Education is a key component of Youth Day, which has presented more than 2,000 scholarships to young Metro Detroiters since its inception.

Pat Batcheller

Bruce Ross watched as city and state officials honored Deeb on July 6, 2018. From now on, Vista Avenue will be known as Edward Deeb Avenue. A new, bright blue sign bearing Deeb’s name now overlooks the athletic fields where the event has been held from the beginning. Detroit City Council President Brenda Jones says it’s a fitting tribute.

“And he can know that he has been appreciated, is still appreciated,” Jones says. 

Ed Deeb says he expects the 2018 Metro Detroit Youth Day to attract about 40,000 people to Belle Isle, which is now a state park managed by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Deeb says he’s noticed the difference the DNR has made working with the Belle Isle Conservancy to improve the island for everyone.

“What they’ve done and what the conservancy has done,” Deeb says. “This is a new Belle Isle, and it’s going to get better than ever, and I’m just pleased to be part of it.”

Edward Deeb Avenue ensures he’ll be a part of Belle Isle for this Youth Day and many more to come.