Johnston Square renames park in honor of Henrietta Lacks

31 / July

Johnston Square, neighborhood, Parks Events, News Justine Abel 1 Comments

Ms Servant Courtney Speed, President Henrietta Lacks Legacy Group, City Councilman Robert Stokes, Lawrence Lacks Sr (son of Henrietta Lacks), Lawrence Lacks Jr (grandson), Regina Hammond, Rebuild Johnston Square Community Association President pose before new sign

In July of 2013 Regina attended her first community association meeting. “Children everywhere in the street. Loud knocks on the door and no one there. I went to that first community meeting because I wanted the kids to have something to do other than run in the street. I wanted my home to be peaceful at night and in the summers.” She left before the end of the meeting in frustration that her concerns were not going to be addressed. Serendipitously, BUILD organizer Terrell Williams was present and followed her out.

Now six years later, after thousands of person hours of cleanup, demands of the City Parks & Rec to put the park back on their budget after 20 years of absence, and organized money of $1.5 million into renovation of the park, leaders scored a major victory in renaming it from Ambrose Kennedy Park (named for an mid-20th century councilman for the area) to Henrietta Lacks Educational Park. See the Parks & People history

Rev Antony Cotton, Mt Sinai Baptist Church
City Council President Brandon Scott
Dan Ford, MD, Johns Hopkins
Lawrence Lacks , Sr and Lawrence Lacks, Jr, son and grandson of Henrietta Lacks, stand by new park sign as Regina Hammond looks on

Community members, neighborhood leaders, and elected officials were on hand to offer their thoughts and congratulations, including Mayor Bernard C. “Jack” Young, Pastor Antony Cotton of Mt Sinai Baptist Church, State Senator Cory McCray, Delegate Stephanie Smith, Reginald Moore, Director of Baltimore City Recreation & Parks, Servant Speed, Henrietta Lacks Legacy Foundation, and Daniel Ford, MD, MPH, Johns Hopkins Institute for Clinical Research & Translational Research. Especially moving was the testimony of Lawrence Lacks, Jr, Ms. Lacks’s grandson, who said “I played in these East Baltimore streets in my younger days and now I will be able to enjoy a park that bears my name.”

Unveiling the new name

Johnston Square children & youth watch demonstration by star collegiate swimmer Maliq Williams of Baltimore

During the 95 degree day, children played on the splash pad and swam in the pool, and along with adults from the neighborhood, enjoyed cold drinks and cookout food.

BUILD Organizer Terrell Williams, community leader Keith Hammond, Mayor Bernard “Jack” Young, Rebuild Johnston Square Community Association President Regina Hammond stand by gazebo and pool