Title
Authorizing the Department of Parks and Recreation to rename Lewis Park to Roy Wilkins Park.
Body
WHEREAS, Lewis Park, 900 North Marion Street, was created by plat in the 1880s and named after the real estate developer John P. Lewis; and
WHEREAS, Roy Wilkins spent his formative years in the home of his uncle Sam Williams, located one block west of Lewis Park on Galtier Street, and attended the former John Whittier Public School on the northern half of the current Lewis Park block; and
WHEREAS, Roy Wilkins campaigned tirelessly for civil rights both in Saint Paul and nationally as editor of the Saint Paul Appeal, an African-American newspaper, and later as executive director of the national NAACP; and
WHEREAS, the Williams/Wilkins home and the Whittier School were demolished in the late 1970s for the Lewis Park “blight clearance” and redevelopment project; and
WHEREAS, the North End Neighborhood Organization wishes to honor Roy Wilkins by officially changing the name of Lewis Park to Roy Wilkins Park and submitted a formal request to consider the renaming; and
WHEREAS, the City of Saint Paul Parks and Recreation Commission (“Commission”) considered the request under Commission Policy #7, Naming Parks and Recreation Sites, 2012 Update, which provides criteria for naming of parks; and
WHEREAS, the Commission endorsed the proposed change in name and found the proposal complies with the spirit of the Commission policy; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, that the Saint Paul City Council hereby authorizes renaming Lewis Park to Roy Wilkins Park.