The park at 7th Avenue S and S Cloverdale Street in the South Park neighborhood, formerly named after Cesar Chavez, finally has a new name: Parque Libertad.

According to The Seattle Times:

“Libertad (‘freedom’) is a universal value that reflects the enduring pursuit of civil rights, equality and opportunity for all,” Seattle Parks and Recreation Interim Superintendent Michele Finnegan said in a news release. “Parque Libertad honors the many individuals and communities who have advanced justice throughout Seattle’s history while creating a welcoming, inclusive place that celebrates freedom, belonging and civic participation for future generations,” she added.

And from Seattle Parks and Recreation’s own Parkways blog:

“Renaming a historic place is not simply about changing signage, and it’s not an attempt to cover up the failings of the past by individuals we once looked up to as heroes, “said Seattle City Councilmember Rob Saka, whose district also includes South Park. “Community members have chosen a new name that places the focus where it should be. We celebrate today’s civic vision and community values and the lessons we have learned over time from the historic movements led by those sometimes-flawed individuals.” 

One wonders if Parque Libertad was chosen instead of, say, Dolores Huerta Park, because of governments reconsidering the wisdom of naming things for individual people. As Nancy Friedman writes in Stop naming buildings (and streets, and parks, and ships, and mountains) after people:

Once we attach a human being’s name to an institution, we’re stuck with that human’s whole messy story. While it’s instructive to read about and learn from that story, we can (and should) do it without turning the person’s name into an object of civic reverence.

Libertad is a concept that will hopefully never fall out of favor.