In celebration of Black History Month, NYC Parks will host a virtual panel discussion focused on the ongoing effort to name park spaces in honor of the Black experience. The discussion, entitled, “Honoring Black History: The Parks Naming Project” will take place on Wednesday, Feb. 24, from 6 to 7 p.m.

NYC Parks Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver, a fellow of the American Institute of Certified Planners, will be the panel moderator and the panel will discuss the agency’s work to incorporate Black history into the fabric of New York City and make the park system more diverse and reflective of the communities it serves.

The panel will feature a conversation with Silver and leading local historians and relatives of selected park honorees, including:

• Kevin C. (K.C.) Matthews, Chief of Staff and interim co-director at NYPL’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture;
• John Reddick, Harlem historian and architectural preservationist;
• Marjol Rush-Collet, Director of the Langston Hughes Family Museum and Hughes relative;
• Daniel Baldwin, artist and James Baldwin relative;
• Sylvia D’Alessandro, Executive Director, Sandy Ground Historical Society and Museum and descendant of community founders.

Silver announced NYC Parks’ naming effort on June 19, 2020 with the creation of Juneteenth Grove in Cadman Plaza Park in Brooklyn. In honor of the 51st anniversary of Black Solidarity Day on Nov. 2, 2020, the agency announced the first tranche of namings for prominent Black Americans which representatives say is in an effort to foster effective and equitable changes within the City’s parks system.

According to the various sources including the site brooklynhistory.org, and Amsterdam News, and Johnson Publishing Company, Black Solidarity Day is a memorial day, created in 1969 by Panamanian-born activist, historian, playwright, Carlos E. Russell. It was inspired by the fictional play “Day of Absence” by Douglas Turner Ward and is observed annually the day before Election Day in November, on the first Monday of the month.

Its purpose is for the African diaspora to exercise a 24-hour moratorium from shopping or participating in other commercial activities like using the transit system. The Pan-African ideal of the observance is to highlight racial inequality and the gap between the wealthiest of one of the most powerful nations in the world and those living in poverty.

This month, Parks named the Central Park loop for runner, Ted Corbitt, and announced the beginning of the next phase of namings, where New Yorkers have an opportunity to submit name recommendations on its website.

Meanwhile, the Parks event is free, but registration is required to attend. Participants can register here, and will receive a link to join.