Florence City Council approves renaming of two parks amid community concerns over process

The Florence City Council voted Tuesday to rename two public parks: South Park will become Jabali Park, and Northwest Park will become the Mordecai C. Johnson Park, council members said during the Jan. 13 meeting.

The actions were presented as separate resolutions. Resolution 2025-01 would rename South Park — a 3.9-acre green space in the Tarleton Estates neighborhood — to Jabali Park “in recognition of the remarkable contributions” of John and Sylvia Jabali, the council read aloud before approving the measure. A family member spoke after the vote to thank the council and to describe the Jabalis’ community work.

The council then considered Resolution 2025-02 to rename Northwest Park in the historic West Florence community for Mordecai C. Johnson Sr., an attorney and civil-rights advocate who served on the Florence City Council and elsewhere. Council supporters cited his legal work on civil-rights cases, his role in increasing employment opportunities for Black workers in the textile industry, and his later service on the city council and as a municipal court…