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Macon-Bibb Rededicates Rosa Parks Square on Parks’ Birthday
Summary
Officials, community leaders and the project builder gathered Feb. 4, 2026, to rededicate Rosa Parks Square in Macon-Bibb, honor contributors and outline remaining public-art fundraising; the ceremony included remarks from Mayor Lester Miller, planning director Alex Morrison and builder Walter Stafford, and a choir performance.
Macon-Bibb officials and community leaders rededicated Rosa Parks Square on Feb. 4, 2026, marking the anniversary of Rosa Parks’ birth and celebrating the completion of a long-planned redesign of the downtown civic space.
Mayor Lester Miller said the rededication was both a celebration and a reminder of the park’s purpose: “Rosa Parks showed the world how one person, just one person only, courage can change the history for a lot of people,” he said, calling the square a place for dignity, justice and opportunity.
Alex Morrison, Director of Planning and Public Spaces and chair of the Urban Development Authority, described the square as an intentionally built public room for civic life and said the project grew from a public design process begun more than a decade ago. “This park now in its new redesigned form is usable,” Morrison said, adding the square will link to nearby trails and public sites and eventually include a wall of luminaries and additional public art.
Walter Stafford of Stafford Builders, the primary contractor on the project, thanked city leaders and community members for their persistence during construction and noted the team worked through buried foundations and utilities to complete the plaza. “The whole reason we’re here … is because of your dedication, your perseverance, your leadership,” Stafford said.
Andrea Cook, chair of the Friends of Rosa Parks Committee, said the project took years of advocacy and phased funding. She noted additional work remains: more art installations and a planned sculpture. Cook said the Community Foundation of Central Georgia is accepting contributions for future artwork; Nancy Jo Cleveland was singled out for creating the fund.
The program included a performance by the Mount de Sales Academy choir and a ceremonial presentation of salvaged bricks from the original walkway to current and former committee members; the bricks bear an inscription dated 02/04/2026. Mayor Miller and other dignitaries led attendees outside for a ribbon cutting and group photo despite rainy weather.
Organizers said the square is intended for gatherings of all kinds — protests, concerts, quiet reflection — and urged residents to use the space as intended. No formal votes or policy actions were taken at the ceremony.
