Singing in a Baptist church Friday afternoon, Aretha Franklin brought a crowd of hundreds to its feet at a dedication ceremony to rename a street outside after her father, the late Rev. C.L. Franklin.

After performing on stage at New Bethel Baptist Church, she strode up the aisle, continuing to wail as a couple of worshippers shook a tambourine.

"I love Aretha from my heart," gushed Kim Harton, 64, of Detroit, after the ceremony. "God made her the Queen of America. She's beautiful."

"Her father was a King, her mother was a Queen. And now, she's the Queen."

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Harton joined others to celebrate the renaming of a part of Linwood after C.L. Franklin, who grew the church and was known for his preaching, singing and civil rights advocacy. A street sign reading "Rev. Dr. C.L. Franklin Blvd" now sits above the sign "Linwood St" on the west side of the church.

Born in Mississippi, Clarence Franklin was part of the wave of African-Americans who flocked to Detroit and other cities in the north in search of a better life and jobs. He helped fight for the rights of blacks in Detroit and out of his gospel vision came Aretha Franklin, one of his daughters and the legendary singer called the Queen of Soul.

Franklin was also known nationally for his sermons recorded on albums and for helping the area around the church, which he pastored for more than 30 years. He died in 1984 after being in a coma for five years from gunshot wounds suffered in 1979 during a robbery at his Detroit home.

"He has done so much for his neighborhood," Harton said. "He brought it together."

Opelton Parker, 60, of Detroit, said "it's a great idea" to rename the street after C.L. Franklin, who was "instrumental in the 1960s...during the civil rights movement."

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Buy PhotoAretha Franklin is at New Bethel Baptist Church in Detroit for the renaming of a part of Linwood Street outside the church after her father, the late C.L. Franklin, who used to be pastor of the church on June 24, 2016. (Photo: Niraj Warikoo, Detroit Free Press)

A good friend of Martin Luther King Jr., Franklin was Chairman of the Detroit Council for Human Rights and was a key organizer of the 1963 Walk to Freedom in Detroit with King that was a precursor to the March on Washington that featured King's famous 'I Have A Dream' speech. "The Declaration of Detroit" adopted at New Bethel Baptist Church in 1963 said that while African-Americans made up nearly 30% of the population at the time, they were discriminated against in housing and employment.

Detroit City Council President Brenda Jones, gospel singer Yolanda Adams, retired Detroit judge Greg Mathis and former Detroit councilwoman JoAnn Watson attended Friday's dedication.

"God...can open doors," Adams said between her songs. Growing up, Aretha Franklin was a role model for many, said Adams.

"You're blessing people all over the world," Adams said to Franklin. "I love you with all my heart."

Speaking afterwards to the Free Press, Franklin reflected on her father and Detroit as congregants lined up for peach cobbler and chicken.

The renaming of the street is "an acknowledgement of his contributions to the city and the country," Franklin said. "I'm thrilled. It couldn't come fast enough. I'm just delighted to see so many people come out."

C.L. Franklin was known "for many things...his preaching, his civil rights involvement, his contributions to the community for over 38 years."

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Franklin hopes the renaming can be part of Detroit's revitalization.