Chicago Police Object to Park Naming

Mar 22, 2004 10:47 am US/Central
CHICAGO (AP) Chicago's Fraternal Order of Police is objecting to a plan to name a park on the city's Northwest Side for Lucy Parsons, a labor organizer and the widow of executed anarchist Albert Parsons.

The Chicago Park District has proposed Lucy Ella Gonzales Parsons Park as part of a move to recognize more women. Of the district's 555 existing parks, only 27 are named after women.

Parks District historian Julia Bachrach proposed Parsons' name because of her work as a labor organizer and champion of minorities.

Lucy Parsons married Confederate army veteran Albert Parsons in Texas before moving to Chicago. Her husband was hanged in 1887 for his alleged involvement in the Haymarket bombing. His widow continued his tradition of radical involvement and became an outspoken critic of the police.