by Nahlah Abdur-Rahman
November 20, 2023
Alberta O. Jones Park is in honor of the town’s first Black lawyer as her legacy lives on.
The town of Louisville is paying tribute to a civil rights icon. The late Alberta O. Jones, who was murdered in 1965, is now endlessly remembered at a park devoted in her title.
The Alberta O. Jones Park sits on seven blocks inside the Kentucky neighborhood on Louisville’s west aspect. A ceremony to unveil the brand new institution was held on Nov. 18, as neighborhood leaders and elected officers joined to formally introduce the brand new playscape and nature path and communicate on the naming of Jones Park to honor the fallen lawyer’s profound affect on racial justice inside the metropolis.
“Metropolis parks are an important a part of what makes Louisville’s neighborhoods vibrant and wholesome,” Mayor Craig Greenberg stated, as shared by WHAS-11. “They enhance psychological and bodily well being, assist the atmosphere, spur financial growth, and construct social connectedness. That’s why my administration has made it a prime precedence to make sure each resident has equitable entry to high-quality inexperienced house. And Alberta O. Jones Park is a major step in the best route. I congratulate the folks of the California Neighborhood, the Parks Alliance, and the various beneficiant donors to the Alliance for his or her dedication to make this imaginative and prescient a actuality.”
Jones acquired her J.D. on the College of Louisville’s College of Regulation. As the primary Black lawyer within the metropolis, her work through the civil rights motion led to her launching the Impartial Voters Affiliation, which sought to show Black residents about voting procedures. Jones’ authorized achievements additionally included negotiating contracts on behalf of Muhammad Ali and her appointment as the primary feminine prosecutor inside the county.
Jones’s life and work have been reduce brief when she was discovered lifeless within the Ohio River in Aug. 1965. Whereas the lawyer’s homicide was by no means solved, her legacy in Louisville stays.
Alberta O. Jones Park will host an abundance of facilities, together with outside school rooms, health facilities, and the first-ever free 5G Wi-Fi for company within the space. The Parks Alliance of Louisville’s plan to revitalize the flood-prone space additionally contains a particular pavilion that includes a mural of Jones alongside footage donated by the neighborhood. Jones’ substantial affect is enshrined by the leisure facility’s dedication to uplifting the Black neighborhood of Louisville.
