You never forget the people who shape your earliest chapters — and Will Smith just proved how deeply those roots run.

According to Complex (source), Will Smith recently returned to the streets of West Philadelphia — the very neighborhood that raised him — for a ceremony renaming the 2000 block of North 59th Street to Will Smith Way. The celebration marked a powerful moment in his decades-long career, honoring his journey from a local kid with big dreams to a global superstar. The newly named street sits right beside Overbrook High School, where Smith once walked the halls as a student. Fittingly, he showed up wearing an Overbrook varsity jacket, paying homage to the place that helped shape both the man and the myth.

The event drew fans, friends, city leaders, and several generations of Philadelphians who have cheered for Smith’s rise since his early days as the “Fresh Prince.” Among the attendees were Smith’s mother and Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker, who praised Smith for continuing to represent his city with pride (The Philadelphia Inquirer, source).

But even amid the excitement, Smith’s attention turned to someone he felt deserved recognition just as much as he did: Mrs. Brenda Brown, his former 10th-grade English teacher. Standing in the crowd with her cane, she watched her former student address the city — not as the mischievous teen she once taught, but as an Oscar-winning actor, musician, and cultural icon.

Smith paused the ceremony to thank her publicly.

“Where’s Mrs. Brown?” he asked the crowd, scanning the audience before pointing her out. “Mrs. Brown, Brenda Brown, was my first teacher in 10th grade when I walked through these doors.”

He went on to describe how the petite teacher — “about five feet tall,” he joked — shaped his personality before the world ever met “The Fresh Prince.”

“Mrs. Brown was the teacher who started calling me Prince Charming. The name ‘the Fresh Prince’ was coined in that building. She called me ‘Prince,’ and I added the ‘Fresh’ because it was hip-hop slang. So the Fresh Prince. So thank you for that, Mrs. Brown.”

Mrs. Brown laughed warmly at the memory as Smith’s mother nodded, fully remembering the origins of a nickname that would eventually become a household name. It was a full-circle moment, tying Smith’s superstar image back to the foundation built by dedicated Black educators who see potential long before fame arrives.

The ceremony also came just days before the release of Smith’s fifth studio album, Based on a True Story — his first album in two decades. The project features collaborations with stars like Big Sean, Teyana Taylor, and his son Jaden, showcasing Smith’s return to the musical roots that first made him famous (Variety, source). Smith also revealed he plans to host a special July 4th hometown concert, giving Philadelphia yet another reason to celebrate one of its own.

In a time when conversations about the impact of teachers are more crucial than ever, this moment served as a touching reminder:

Black teachers matter — and their influence lasts a lifetime.