WA city renames park for Black trailblazers in time for Juneteenth
FEDERAL WAY, Wash. – More than 150 years after John Conna broke free of slavery in Texas and made his way to the Pacific Northwest, some of his descendants gathered Wednesday to see his remarkable story placed back on the map.
They and Federal Way officials, who recently renamed a park for the Black trailblazer and his wife, Mary, unveiled Conna Park’s new sign and broke ground on other improvements ahead of Thursday’s Juneteenth holiday.
Wednesday’s event punctuated a multiyear effort by local historians, diversity advocates and Conna descendants to secure recognition for the pioneering couple, and the timing made sense because Juneteenth commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. Conna fought for the Union Army in the Civil War and lobbied for civil rights after moving across the country with Mary.
“This honor makes their story, contributions and legacy more visible,” Maisha Barnett, a great-granddaughter of the Connas, said at the unveiling.
Born in the mid-1800s, Conna built a career on the East Coast after the Civil War. He eventually settled in the Tacoma area, where he became a prominent business person, community leader and politician in the late 1800s.
Previously called Alderbrook Park, Conna Park is located on 25 of the 157 acres that John and Mary Conna homesteaded, in what’s now Federal Way.
“It’s a fitting tribute” for that reason, Mayor Jim Ferrell said Wednesday.
An extraordinary man with a tumultuous life that could be made into a blockbuster movie, Conna obtained his education by attending night schools; recruited Black workers to Washington; developed real estate; was elected sergeant at arms by the state’s inaugural Legislature; and championed a section in the state constitution that barred race-based discrimination.
He also led a political club for Black Republicans; sued a Tacoma restaurant for refusing to serve him; and delivered speeches celebrating emancipation and condemning Jim Crow-era terror. Conna later chased the gold rush to Alaska, where he ran for political seats as a socialist and died in 1921.
His exploits underscore the challenges many Black people faced after the Civil War and the strides some made in the Pacific Northwest. But Conna’s tale had mostly vanished from the public sphere until a few years ago.
Barnett, who lives in Seattle, learned about John and Mary Conna from her father and began doing her own research during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, when Washington marked Juneteenth as an official state holiday for the first time, she hooked up with history buffs in Federal Way and began pressing the city’s leaders to recognize her ancestors with a place name.
Barnett and other descendants opposed an initial proposal to name the city’s Panther Lake Trail after the Connas, saying they weren’t consulted and didn’t think the trail was the right choice. Based on their input, Federal Way officials subsequently developed a process to handle naming suggestions.
That process led to Alderbrook Park, which the Federal Way City Council voted to rename Conna Park last year.
Located near Silver Lake Elementary School, the park includes a playground, picnic area, wooded natural area and walking trail. The playground will be renovated, Ferrell said.
Along the way, King County Metro installed a mural at a Federal Way bus shelter in 2023 as a tribute to the Connas, including photos of the history-making couple and displaying information about Conna’s deeds.
Wednesday’s crowd included 16-year-old Averionna Wade, from Seattle, who said it made her proud to see her great-great-grandparents acknowledged. Barnett’s cousin, Ghanya Thomas, said the city’s decision to move ahead with Conna Park’s new name this summer carried extra weight because some U.S. leaders are pushing hard to roll back diversity and inclusion efforts.
“You all stood together and said, ‘Not on my watch,’ ” Thomas told officials and advocates at the park. “I commend you for that.”
The story first appeared in the Seattle Times.