The city of Elkhart cut the ribbon Saturday on the newly renamed Edith Pasley Park.
The site of the former Ullery School has long been a gathering place for the city’s Black community. City council member LaTonya King said even if people didn’t go to school there, they played on the playground.
“Everybody just congregated here, and to see this crowd here, and it’s mixed with everybody and that is so beautiful and that’s exactly how it’s supposed to be,” King said.
And Edith Pasley fought for that gathering space, according to her great-niece Tessa Barnes. "She would’ve wanted to share this piece of land with the community," Barnes said. "She would not have wanted to see it just go to an individual."
Pasley was a longtime civil rights leader and community activist who died in 2006. She was remembered Saturday for helping those in need and “lifting people up.”
Mayor Rod Roberson recalled her vocal opposition to a planned Ku Klux Klan march in 1998. “And Ms. Pasley came in and said we need to deny the permit, and she went into a whole – I mean it was like a book of the Bible that would speak to why we should not allow the Ku Klux Klan to march,” Roberson remembered.
Now, city crews have upgraded the former Ullery Park with a new splash pad, shelter and walking paths, with help from the Elkhart Parks Foundation, the Community Foundation of Elkhart County, private donors and other community partners.
The mayor said the park’s rededication speaks to reconciliation. “I can pinch myself that I’m mayor during the time in which we’re doing this kind of work because this is the kind of work that means something to a community, and as you can see, it’s a beautiful park,” Roberson said.
He said the upgrades will allow a new generation to make memories and build relationships.
