MILWAUKEE — The Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors approved a resolution Thursday to change the name of Lindbergh Park to Lucille Berrien Park, after the Milwaukee civil rights activist.
Lindbergh Park is located at the corner of Nash and 16th streets, a few blocks south of Capitol Drive.
The resolutiondirects the parks department to officially make the name change, as well as obtain $9,750 in funding to update the park's signs to reflect the change.
Lucille Berrien is a Milwaukee activist who became the first African-American woman to run for Milwaukee mayor. She has also served on the board of directors for Legal Action of Wisconsin and the Black Health Coalition.
The park is currently named after Charles Lindbergh, who is remembered as the first person to fly alone and notstop across the Atlantic Ocean, from New York City to Paris in 1927. Lindbergh has also been accused of being a Nazi sympathizer for his comments about Jews and desire to keep the U.S. out of the Second World War.
The resolution was authored by County Board Supervisor Priscilla Coggs-Jones, who wrote in a statement following the proposal's passing that “Ms. Lucille Berrien is an incredible community activist who deserves this recognition... This legislation provides correction of a historical atrocity and moves us forward in our commitment to racial equity.”
Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, or MAARPR, also played a role in the effort. The group said in a statement that it canvassed the surrounding neighborhood and collected over 200 signatures in support of changing the park’s name.
The city transferred the park to the county in 1936 after the the city Park Commission merged into the Milwaukee County Parks Commission. The county has operated Milwaukee's parks ever since.
