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 judge.

Why it matters: Park names serve as public recognition and local historical memory. Council members and residents framed both renamings as efforts to honor local leaders who contributed to Florence’s civic life.

What council said and community response: Council supporters spoke at length in favor of the Mordecai Johnson naming. Councilman Chipper Smith, Councilman Shaquess and others described Johnson as a model for younger Black attorneys and credited him with civil-rights work that, they said, helped create electoral districts and opportunities for later leaders. A family member and other longtime acquaintances addressed the council to praise Johnson’s career and contributions.

At the same time, several West Florence residents told council members at the Planning Commission stage that they wanted more neighborhood input before a renaming, and the Planning Commission deferred the item. During the City Council discussion, one council member asked why the item appeared on the council agenda after the Planning Commission had deferred it. Planning Director Dudley and the city manager told council the Planning Commission is advisory; council has discretion to proceed. One council member who spoke from the West Florence area said they opposed the vote because their community had not been included in the process; the vote passed with vocal approval and one recorded opposition. Council members said they had attended neighborhood meetings and that the name had community support among some local leaders.

Formal action: The council voted to adopt Resolution 2025-01 (South Park → Jabali Park) and Resolution 2025-02 (Northwest Park → Mordecai C. Johnson Park). The motions were moved, seconded and approved during the Jan. 13 meeting. The council read the full resolving language into the record for both actions.

Background details and context: The council noted that John and Sylvia Jabali led a grassroots fundraising campaign in the 1970s to preserve South Park from high-density development, and that their home adjacent to the park was donated to the city and incorporated into the park. The resolution cites those contributions.

For Mordecai C. Johnson, supporters recounted his education (Howard University, George Washington University), a lengthy career as an attorney that included work for the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and the NAACP, leadership on employment initiatives for minorities in the textile industry in the 1960s, and service as the first African American elected to Florence City Council since Reconstruction (1977–1981). Speakers also described episodes of his civil-rights activism and litigation. The council acknowledged that the Planning Commission had deferred its recommendation and that some residents wanted more neighborhood involvement in the naming decision.

What’s next: The council presented framed resolutions to family members at the meeting. No additional administrative steps for signage or park signage timelines were specified during the council session.

Ending: Council members urged unity and celebrated the legacies; residents who said they felt excluded in the process reiterated a desire for fuller neighborhood participation in future naming decisions.