Deerfield's 'Confederate Statue': Group Seeks To Rename Park

DEERFIELD, IL — Last year, author Amy Roost called Mitchell Park "Deerfield's Confederate Statue" during a panel discussion at Deerfield Public Library. In a 1959 referendum, Deerfield residents voted overwhelmingly to prevent an integrated housing development in Deerfield from being completed, by condemning the property and using it instead for the park and pool known today as Mitchell Pool and Mitchell Park, according to a Facebook group called Rename Mitchell Park.

"Today Mitchell Park and Mitchell Pool still bear the name of the individual who led the effort to use the Park Board authority to thwart the effort to integrate Deerfield, and Deerfield today still has virtually no African American representation," the group said in a social media post.

According to Rename Mitchell Park, 20 percent of the development would have been set aside for African Americans.

The Deerfield Park District Board of Commissioners has agreed to discuss the matter at Thursday's 7:30 p.m. meeting. The Board denied a similar request to rename the park in 2015. The park's namesake, James G. Mitchell, was a president of the Deerfield Park District.

"We could not have made it this far without the amazing energy everybody has already put into advocating for this important change," Rename Mitchell Park said in a Facebook post regarding Thursday's meeting. "However, this is only the first step of the process, and we need to keep putting the pressure on the Board to not just discuss this, but to vote to rename the park."

The group is asking members to virtually attend the board meeting "to continue to demonstrate the importance of this issue and for the Park District to take a stand."

Members of the public may listen live to the Board meeting by calling 1 (312) 626-6799, 1 (929) 205-6099 or (669) 900-6833. When prompted enter Conference ID 721 540 0105 then press #, there is no Participant ID – just press # and enter 112233 for password and press #.

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