Issue link: http://maconmagazine.uberflip.com/i/1527947
34 maconmagazine.com | October/November 2024 B u i l d i n g a v i s i o n After generations of envisioning, Rosa Parks Square is now under construction L O C A L B U Z Z N ostalgia, pride, and hope lled the heart of Downtown Macon as our community celebrated a moment that has been in the making for decades on September 19. The vision that played over and over in people's minds was happening right in front of them. Rosa Parks Square is nally getting the renovations so many di erent leaders and community members worked hard for. "This is not just about a physical transformation, but a renewed commitment to equality, social justice, and public space for everyone to enjoy," said Friends of Rosa Parks Square Board Chair Andrea Cooke. "We have come a long way." The greenspace named in honor of the "Mother of the Civil Rights Movement" is what it is today, and what it will become next year, because of advocacy and determination. Renovations include a stage, memorial wall, benches, tables, and lighting. This is a long way from where the project rst was in 2006, the year after Rosa Parks passed away, when C. Jack Ellis was the mayor of the then-City of Macon. "I attended her funeral in Detroit. I happened to have sat next to federal circuit Judge Damon Keith, who was on the board of trustees for Rosa Parks' estate," said Mayor Ellis. "I told him as mayor of Macon, I wanted to do something to honor Ms. Parks in Macon." Judge Keith told him he would have to send a letter to the board, requesting to name something after her. That something was a small corner green space on the corner of First Street and Poplar Street once named for legendary local volunteer Ozzie Belle McKay. In 2006, after a unanimous vote from 15 council members, the corner lot in front of Macon City Hall became Rosa Parks Park. "Public service, especially in elected o ce, is like a relay race. One administration will start something and another administration will nish it," said Mayor Ellis. "We all have the same goal in mind, and that is to make Macon a better place for all of us to live, work, and play." Years later, Mayor Robert A.B. Reichert took o ce and took the park another step forward, by doubling it in BY EDNA RUIZ ADAMS | PHOTO BY MATT ODOM Macon leaders and elected o cials, including current and former mayors Lester Miller, Robert Reichert, and C. Jack Ellis, celebrate the park groundbreaking