MINNEAPOLIS — A Minneapolis woman has submitted a nomination letter to the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board to change the name of a park in the neighborhood she grew up in.
Farwell Park is where Amina Smaller spent much of her childhood, with her grandmother, Lorraine.
"This park is really home for me, and actually for a lot of young people in this community," Amina said. "The easiest way to say it is my grandma was everything."
The reason for the proposal is simple – the legacy and impact Lorraine had. For decades, she worked as an educator and mentor for kids.
After she retired, she started the We Care Performing Arts Summer Program at Farwell Park, dedicated to bringing kids together.
"Some of that was grounding our community members back in what the heart of this community looked and felt like, and she was a champion in that work," Amina said.
Lorraine also pushed for renovations at Farwell Park. Now, new playground equipment is easy to spot.
Lorraine passed in 2022, never getting to see the finished renovations – but by changing the name of the park, Amina hopes to honor her grandmother one last time.
"We'd joke with her and be like, 'We're gonna name the park after you," Amina said, laughing. "We don't care how it happens, we're just gonna go slap 'Lorraine B. Smaller park on the board over there."
Now, they're on the road to changing that name. Wednesday is step one – the first scheduled public hearing about the name change. After that, another public hearing will happen somewhere around September 2025.
Shortly after that, the board will consider the proposal, and if approved, signage will be updated as soon as possible.
It's a small gesture, but one that Amina says honors the woman who had an impact as large as Lorraines.
"It is so easy to forget, and we carry on the stories of our elders in everything we do," she said. "But I think it's a different effect, to have it concrete somewhere, and our elders and our ancestors deserve that recognition."
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