EVENTS THAT UPLIFT COMMUNITY
A FEW Examples of impact: From Groundbreaking to Student-led rallies, from cultural seminars to interfaith vigils, from Memorial gardens to ongoing food distributions
The park's groundbreaking took place May 2018 and saw neighbors, community leaders and media attend. (L-R) City of Atlanta Parks Commissioner Amy Phuong; District 9 Councilmember Dustin Hillis; Fulton County Commissioner Robb Pitts; Atlanta City Council President Felicia A. Moore; Park Pride Associate Director Allison Barnett; Park Steward Isabel González Whitaker; Vice President, Global Commerce Metro Atlanta Chamber; CEO Dance 101 Ofelia de La Valette
Families from the neighborhood gather for a children's hard hat tour, June 2018, including community leaders and park advocates Ricardo Miguel Martinez, Managing Director, The Ad Hoc Agency; Daniel Calvert, Urban Planner, City of Atlanta; Project Manager Patrick Hand, Founder, Integrated Design; Juan Ramirez, Founder, Fourtune Entertainment; Jose M. Osorio, Teacher of the Year and Dresden Elementary School Assistant Principal.
An interfaith vigil was held June 2018 to offer spiritual support to the families at the border and those affected in the Atlanta community. It was supported by the Sanctuary Movement of Atlanta and the Latino Community Fund Georgia. With special thanks to: Rev. Tom Hagood, Columbia Presbyterian Church; Rabbi Alexandria Shuval-Weiner, Temple Beth Tikvah; Rev. Fabio Sotelo, St. Bede's Episcopal Church; Rev. Leigh Campbell-Taylor, Oakhurst Presbyterian Church; Amin Tomeh, Islamic Speakers Bureau of Atlanta; Rev. Chris Morgan, Riverside Church; Rabbi Steve Lebow, Temple Kol Emeth; Deacon Juan Sandoval, The Cathedral of St. Philip; DREAMer Katherine Narvaez; LCFG Founder Gigi Pedraza.
September 8th saw neighbors, community leaders, families and friends come out to help beautify the park in preparation for the ribbon cutting later this fall. Special thanks to Park Pride, Edens, City of Atlanta, Georgia Power Foundation, Cox Enterprises, Publix, Welcoming Atlanta, Ricardo Martinez of Ad Hoc Agency, the Latin American Association and many others including Steering Committee member Claire Johnson who made the beautiful shirts!
Instead of a ribbon cutting, a ribbon tying event was held on October 9th, 2018, to honor the park’s theme of inclusion. Seen here, left to right, are Atlanta City Planner Daniel Calvert; Park Pride Associate Director Allison Barnett; Vice President Cox Enterprises Melody Darch; Senior Vice President for EDENS, Herbert Ames; Park Founder and Steward, Isabel González Whitaker; Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms; Atlanta City Council President Felicia A. Moore. Photo: Samantha Diaz Roberts
The Ribbon Tying program, October 2018
Officer Edgar Flores Memorial Garden debut planting with garden leader Sofia Marie Aun, seventh from left, with the garden committee and Officer Edgar Flores’ family, loved ones and friends, May 2019.
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Bottoms, center, with Scrapp Deleon (left) and Kap G (right) at the Mayor’s Census Block Party, July 2019.
DeKalb County Police Lieutenant Erik Heimer, DeKalb County COO Public Safety Joseph Lumpkin, Edgar Flores’ fianceé Lizandra Mora, Georgia Power Foundation Executive Director Rita Breen, Sara J. González Park Founder Isabel González Whitaker, Edgar Flores’ mother Laura Flores, Park Pride’s Ellen Bruenderman, Edgar Flores’ grandmother, Upper90 Founder and Atlanta United Chaplain Jorge Vallejo, Edgar Flores’ brother. Parks and Recreation Commissioner John Dargle Jr., Dresden Elementary Asst. Principal José M. Osorio, Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields, The Hon. Dustin Hillis, The Hon Felicia A. Moore at the inauguration of the Learning Nook, children's soccer field and the Officer Edgar Flores Memorial Community Garden, October 2019.
Program for the October 9, 2019 unveiling.
On Sunday, June 14, 2020, North Atlanta Parents for Public Schools and community advocate Elizabeth Wickland organized a student-led rally that saw 200 students peacefully demonstrate at the Sara J. González Memorial Park on behalf of Black Lives Matter. Students sang, read poems and pledges, and participated in a silent vigil for George Floyd.
Thanks to the organizing efforts of the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs/Welcoming Atlanta, on September 2, 2020, the Sara J. González Memorial Park debuted a Resource Fair to help the community around the park as they face disproportionate negative impact of COVID-19. With support from Isabel González Whitaker, Sofia Bork, Mr. Ralph de la Vega, Publix, Crescent Communities, Park Pride, Latino Community Fund of Georgia, Atlanta Community Food Bank, Helping Mamas, ICNA Atlanta, Common Market, A. Garcia Trucking and Produce, ATL Counts and more, 200 families in need received 10,000 pounds of food, 350 backpacks, and other much needed supplies and resources.
Launching on Mother’s Day weekend 2021 and over the course of a week, students from eight public schools in North Atlanta, representing the most diverse cluster of schools in the city, and led by the North Atlanta High School Asian Student Union, came together for a unique moment of solidarity and memorialization following the Asian spa-targeted shootings in Atlanta in March. This intergenerational effort, ideated by students with guidance from parent volunteers from the North Atlanta Parents for Public Schools (NAPPS), debuted with a moment of silence and invited participants to walk eight laps at any point over the week — one in honor of each victim of the tragedy — around the city-block sized urban green space, which neighbors the schools and is located within 10 miles of two of the spas where the shootings took place. Signs around the park provided a QR code linking to an audio file with the correct pronunciation of each of the victims’ names. Over the course of the week, students, parents, neighbors and community leaders convened and took a pledge against Asian hate, which was also provided via the QR code. Photographed is student leader and organizer Sam Nelson, second from right, and third from right is Atlanta Public Schools Chief of Equity and Social Justice Tuheedah Baker Jones.
On September 15, 2021, the first day of Hispanic Heritage Month, the first of two outdoor bilingual literacy events was held and led by the park’s Director of Community Engagement, Sofia Marie Aun, pictured right. The events took place in partnership with the Fulton County Library System, the Mayor’s Summer Reading Program, and Welcoming Atlanta. More than 60 families participated across the two events, which took place at the park’s Learning Nook, a dedicated education space in the park inspired by local award-winning educator Jose Osorio.
Afro Latino business and community leaders gathered on October 14, 2021 for a final Hispanic Heritage Month event at the park and an important discussion about the Afro Latino experience in Atlanta and the United States. The panel discussion, which took place in partnership with the park and 100 Black Men of Atlanta, Ohio River South, and Hispanic Young Professionals and Entrepreneurs, featured speakers Louis Negron, Executive Director of 100 Black Men of Atlanta (second from left), Hilda Abbott, founder of RudHil Companies (second from right), and Joel Alvarado, Vice President of Ohio River South. Atlanta School Board Chair Jason Esteves provided welcome remarks and the Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce’s Vice President Ish Gayle, left, moderated.
The debut of the Park Pride funded children’s soccer field during Hispanic Heritage Month 2022 with Mayor Dickens joined by Congresswoman Nikema Williams, Atlanta City Council Member Dustin Hillis, park founder Isabel González Whitaker, Friends of Sara J. González Park and community advocates Sofia Marie Aun and Sandy Feliciano, the Commissioner of Atlanta’s Department of Parks and Recreation, Justin Cutler, Director of the Mayor’s Office of International Affairs, Vanessa Ibarra, Park Pride’s Executive Director, Michael Halicki, supporters Herbert Ames, Elizabeth Wickland, and Lisa Jones.
On December 8, 2022, the Sara J. González Park in partnership with the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs/Welcoming Atlanta held the second annual Winter Resource Fair with support from Second Helpings Atlanta, Fulton County Library System, Publix, and Helping Mamas. Nearly 200 families (representing 500+ individuals) received food, baby supplies, feminine products, clothes, books, gift cards. and vaccinations. The event was made possible by support from Sofia Bork, Louis Negron, 100 Black Men of Atlanta, Park Pride, Core, Dance 101 Studios, Liz Lapidus, the Atlanta Hawks, Luna Upper Westside and Henri’s Bakery. In one of his first appearances in his new role, Mayor Elect Andre Dickens, pictured, attended and distributed aid.
On October 11th, during Hispanic/Latino Heritage Month, several new key equity and enrichment features were unveiled at the park: a new all-abilities swing set and water fountain thanks to Truist Foundations, a bilingual lending library “Biblioteca Carmen Rita” with the Little Free Library Read in Color program and thanks to the Carmen Rita Wong Family Foundation, and a stunning large scale permanent art installation/sidewalk mural thanks to the Savannah College of Art and Design Paint our Parks program and graduate José Ray and Sara’s granddaughter Paulina de La Valette. With Mayor Andre Dickens, in this photo are Welcoming Atlanta’s Christina Chu and Holly Malerba, Executive Director of the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant and International Affairs Vanessa Ibarra, Park Pride’s Kayla Atland, the park’s Director of Community Engagement Sandy Feliciano, Carmen Rita Wong Family Foundation’s Eden Wong, SCAD President Paula Wallace, Truist’s Sofia Marie Aun, and Department of Parks and Rec Deputy Commissioner Voss.
