LOS ANGELES – City Councilman Kevin de León is expected Friday to officially begin the process of renaming downtown’s Pershing Square as “Biddy Mason Park,” in honor of a former slave who became a prominent L.A. citizen and landowner in the 1850s.
According to de León’s office, the renaming would serve as a symbolic and overdue recognition of Bridget “Biddy” Mason’s life. Born into slavery in Georgia in 1818, she came to Los Angeles and became a nurse and co-founded the First African Methodist Episcopal Church.
On Wednesday — Juneteenth — the councilman announced his intention to rename Pershing Square. His motion, if approved Friday, would then need to be considered by a council committee and then get a final vote by the City Council.
“Biddy Mason’s story reminds us that history is not just a collection of dates and events, but a tapestry of lives lived, struggles endured, and triumphs achieved,” de León said in a statement.
“This is more than a renaming. This is a reclamation of a legacy long overdue. I want to make sure that her legacy is never forgotten, but enshrined into our city permanently.”
Additionally, the councilman is expected to submit a separate motion seeking to erect a ceremonial sign on Spring Street, between First and Fifth streets, also in honor of Mason.
According to the Los Angeles Conservancy, Mason bought a nearly 1-acre site in 1866, between what is now Broadway and Spring streets and Third and Fourth streets, the site of a mini-park in her honor named Biddy Mason Memorial Park.
Sisters Cheryl and Robynn Cox, fourth-great-granddaughters of Mason, have backed de León’s plans.
“We understand that as a Black woman she had not received the ceremonial accolades that many founders and contributors to the city received,” Robynn Cox told the Los Angeles Times.
“So having something like a park that is historic and was around when she was alive and has been a central part of the city is a great step in the right direction for her receiving the recognition for what she has done.”
Pershing Square was originally dedicated in 1866 by then-Mayor Cristóbal Aguilar as La Plaza Abaja, then later dedicated in honor of World War I Gen. John J. Pershing in 1918.
