Less than a week after Dallas city officials voted to change the name of a park named after a Confederate general, a Fort Worth city department is now considering whether one of its parks bearing the name of a Confederate leader should also be changed.
A meeting of the Fort Worth Park and Recreation Advisory Board met on Wednesday afternoon.
The board is unanimous in its desire to change the name of Jefferson Davis Park and is leaning toward one option.[[290815791,R]]
The board decided to move forward and ask the community’s input on Parque Unidad, Unity Park, as brought forward by residents.
Davis was president of the Confederate States of America for four years during the Civil War.
More than 5,000 people signed an online petition saying the name ‘Jefferson Davis’ does not reflect the diversity of the community and should be changed.
Valerie Zamarripa attended the afternoon meeting.
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Zamarripa is the mother of fallen Dallas Police Officer Patrick Zamarripa who was killed in the Dallas ambush in 2016.
She said while she supports ‘Parque Unidad,’ she would prefer the park be renamed after her son ‘Patrick Zamarripa.’
She said her son was from the southside of Fort Worth and it would be nice for his three-year-old daughter.
“Of course, yes I would love for [the park] to be named after my son because I want his legacy to continue because his daughter so that way she knows who and what he was about,” said Zamarripa. “He was about the community. He did get involved in schools here in Fort Worth.”
Representatives with the city say Zamarripa’s name does not currently fit the criteria for a park name, however the board could suspend the policy and allow the name.
As of now, the Fort Worth Park and Rec Advisory Board will meet on October 25 and will seek public input on ‘Parque Unidad, Unity Park.’
The board will then have approximately 30 days to send the matter to the full city council.
