 conversation about the renaming of the park. And of course, the initial conversation was just, it sort of engendered itself around just talk. We thought our ACM and Greg, is Greg on with us today, Henry? I don't think, yeah, he's here, he's on. Gregory Tucker's here, yeah. He's on. Hey, Greg. Hey, how are you? Hello. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for being here. Dr. Donaldson, thank you for being here with us and taking time out of your scheduled appointment. Of course, Robin, again, thank you for lending both you and Dr. Donaldson an opportunity to share with us some some insights as it relates to the renaming of the park. Robin, again, thank you. Long time no see. At some point in time, send me something. Thank you, sir. Thank you, sir. What I'm going to do is sort of turn this over to our ACM, Henry. Go forward. Yes, sir. Thank you. Thank you so much, Mr. Chair, Councilman McDowell, Councilman Duvall, Councilman Davis. Thank you all so much. Thank you to our city manager that's of course with us today. Ms. Wilson, do you want to make any preliminary comments before I proceed? No, go right ahead, Henry. Thank you. Okay. So as we previously discussed, we wanted to bring some subject matter experts to provide some recommendations on the naming of the Bull Street Park. And we also want to allow, as we described earlier, the Hughes Development Corporation to provide some input on this as well. So today we have Dr. Bobby Donaldson with us who is a professor at the University of South Carolina. And he is also the director of the Center for Civil Rights History and Research. And he has been serving at the University of South Carolina for 20 years, which is the best university in the state of South Carolina. Thank you very much, Dr. Donaldson, for being here today. We also have Robin Weitz with us, who is the director of Historic Columbia. Ms. Weitz has been serving as director since 2004 and has been with the organization since 2002. So thank you, Robin, for being here as well. We also have the president of the Hughes Development Corporation with us, Mr. Robbie Hughes. Thank you so much, sir, for being here with us. And what we want to do is we want to allow Dr. Bobby Donaldson as well as Robin Weitz to provide their recommendations to the committee. And then we will follow with some comments by Mr. Hughes as well. So I'm going to turn this over to Dr. Bobby Donaldson to lead us through those recommendations. Well, thank you very much, Henry. And good afternoon, everyone. Robin and I are both excited to offer some commentary. I won't use the word recommendations just yet, but some historical insights. This has been a really revealing assignment for me, Councilor McDowell. I thought I knew a lot about Columbia history. And the more we started digging literally into the records about the Bull Street property, we're reminded that there's much more to uncover and to document. So some of the suggestions and recommendations that we have today, some of them are widely known. I think some of them are not known at all. And I agree with Councilman Duvall that perhaps beyond just naming a space, this affords us a unique opportunity to dig into our history, to revise part of that history, and to literally reconstruct some of the history. And so I'm excited to be a part of this undertaking. Historic Columbia has created a list of recommendations, all of which I support and concur with. After Robin provides some insight about their work, then I'll turn to some additional names that have come to my attention over the last two weeks. So, Mrs. Simons, can I share my screen? Is that doable? All right, let's see. You should be good. You see that? Yes. You see? Okay. All right. So this is the space of which we're speaking. Really an extraordinary space. And as I went there two weeks ago and stood there and looked in every direction, it was very clear to me that this is going to be an extraordinary contribution to the City of Columbia, not only its landscape, but in addition to naming it for an individual or for individuals, I think it will be also a place of contemplation. And so I very much underscore any efforts to use this space as a classroom as well about the history of Columbia. Historic Columbia has delved into their own archives and have looked closely at some appropriate naming opportunities. And so I'll turn it over to Robin Waits, the Executive Director of Historic Columbia to go through that list of recommendations. So Robin. Yeah, thanks. Thanks, Dr. Donaldson. This is a list of six recommendations or options that our staff has pulled together and Dr. Donaldson was kind enough to pull this into a presentation. So I just want to start out with a family that was certainly significant to Columbia. Interestingly, the Bull Street Campus was established on what was formerly the Wallace Plantation and Clarissa and Samuel Thompson were enslaved on that plantation. So there is a connection to the site in terms of some of the early members of that family. But there are also three prominent children of Clarissa and Samuel Thompson who, two of whom have a direct connection to the Bull Street Campus and one of whom was well known in Columbia. The first of those is Samuel Benjamin Thompson. Samuel Thompson was one of four delegates from Richland County elected to the 1868 Constitutional Convention and he subsequently served four terms in the South Carolina House of Representatives. So he's one of our well known Reconstruction Era elected officials. He was simultaneously active in local government serving as Trial Justice City Councilman and Coroner and Samuel Thompson actually served on the Board of Regents for the State Asylum at least briefly as we know in 1873. His brother E.B. Thompson was one of the founders of St. Luke's Episcopal Church. He was an organizer of the city's Emancipation Day and he was also the steward of the asylum for most of Reconstruction and as the steward of the asylum he would have lived on the campus. And then Caroline Thompson Austin who many of you probably recognize that name recently was in the news with the acquisition by Jennifer Clyburn Reed of her home or former home on Jervay Street. Caroline Austin was one of the city's first black business woman. She lived and worked on that property on Jervay Street. And then the daughter of Samuel Benjamin Thompson was Clarissa Thompson Allen and she actually lived just around the corner from the from the campus on Henderson Street. She graduated from the South Carolina State Normal School alongside Celia Dial Saxon so one of the early attendees to the University of South Carolina when was first integrated was Allen taught both at Howard School and Allen University and and is known beyond Columbia for the publication of a series of articles that fictionalized Columbia in 1885 to 1886. So when we look at this this is kind of a family option to recognize the Thompson's and gives us would give us an opportunity to really delve into a variety of narratives around Columbia. You know we we think having an opportunity to talk about the foundation of that campus on on a plantation is very important in terms of the breadth of Columbia's history and highlighting a family that certainly moved beyond enslavement in ways that were quite significant locally as well as on a statewide level and the image that you see on the left is of Clarissa Thompson Allen so this is the the granddaughter of the couple that was born or that was enslaved by the by the Wallace family and the the gravestone um Dr. Donaldson at Randolph. Correct. Is there anything you want to add to that Dr. Donaldson to the Thompson? I'll just say I mean this is a very there are some things about this particular recommendation I did not know and I'll just simply say Clarissa Thompson the granddaughter of these reconstructing figures the daughter uh she leaves Columbia and goes off to a career as a teacher in Texas but as Robin mentioned she becomes a very well-known writer and it is argued that she is one of the very first African-American female novelist in the country whose roots are right here on the Bull Street property. The next individual is Dr. Alonza McLennan and McLennan actually was a nephew of the top of E.B. Thompson so he was a board of E.B. Thompson as a as a young man so when Thompson E.B. Thompson was again the steward at the Bull Street campus so it's very likely that McClellan would have lived on the Bull Street campus as a young man. Dr. McLellan attended Benedict Institute in Columbia. He was later appointed as a legislative page when his uncle Samuel Thompson served in the legislature. He was also the second black midshipman at the United States Naval Academy in 1893 so when the when Annapolis integrated McLennan was was actually one of one of two he attended Howard Law School I'm sorry Howard School of Medicine. He's really better known in Charleston because that's where he ended up practicing and was very involved in the establishment of training for nurses. He established the first black owned pharmacy in Charleston you know one of the one of the recommendations from my staff is that as a Colombian this could be an opportunity to sort of reclaim Dr. McLellan as our own. I think there's also an opportunity as we look at how Robert you might you might and Henry y'all might want to tell this story if the Thompson family is one that is selected certainly Dr. McLellan could be part of that as a as a ward and and family member of the Thompson. The only thing I'll add about Dr. McLellan is just like his cousin Clarissa he also was a student at the University of South Carolina doing the reconstruction time period. The next person is Paige Ellington. Ellington is is best known as a self-taught architect in Columbia. Mr. Ellington was also born enslaved by a Mr. McCully in Columbia. He was actually born in North Carolina and was relocated to South Carolina. His contemporaries both black and white recognize his skill both as a builder and as an architect and it is believed that he was he was actively engaged in design and construction on the Bull Street campus. So there's an article in from 1910 the state that detailed his close partnership with Dr. James W. Babcock and this is just a quote from that article he has assisted Dr. Babcock with all of the new buildings at the state hospital and it will be observed that the towers all differ in appearance. Paige Ellington has through postcards and encyclopedias informed himself upon the detail but the most renowned turrets and steeples and spires and towers in all parts of the world has exhibited not a little taste in fitting designs to new buildings. So again it's it's it's unclear exactly how engaged he was but he certainly was engaged across the Bull Street campus. We're not sure if if he if he was engaged with Babcock but are still trying to kind of find out more information about Mr. Ellington. It certainly is possible that he was part of the the design for for Babcock because it had the same contractor for two of the iterations to the construction periods 1857 to 1858 and 1880 to 1882. I'll say too that Dr. Babcock who's written about Ellington is very clear that the campus would not be the campus that it is without Ellington's support and work on the campus. In addition to being a very skilled laborer, Rick Mason and architect Paige Ellington was also very involved in city politics in Colombia. During the reconstruction era he was a member of the board of health for the city. He served along with Richard T. Green of the first African-American professor at the University of South Carolina. He ran for city council in 91875. He also was an elections manager during the reconstruction period. He is also associated with three historic churches. He was a member of the Washington Street Methodist Church. When the black members of that church broke off to start their own congregation that led to the founding of Bethel AME. He was a part of that congregation and then later became a member of Latsin Presbyterian. It is thought that the building the Latsin current sanctuary on on Sumter Street may have been built by Paige Ellington. So a really extraordinary individual whose story needs to be more widely known. Dr. Donaldson. Yes. And Robin also I have been loaned this book on the asylum doctor and among the things that it says that Paige Ellington built on the on the campus was the the Parker building which I know where that is but it also mentions the Taylor building the Talley building and the North building. Are those buildings still standing? Are they parts of the what we call the Babcock building that was built in 12 stages? I do not know the answer to that. Mr. Deval but can certainly look into that. I don't know if Robert in your words. The only one I know that's still standing is the Parker Annex building. I don't believe there was a Parker original Parker building. I believe that is the building that burned in terms of the Talley building and North building and some of the others. If they existed when we got here I've never even heard of that. We do have a Talley street in honor of the Talley building that stood but I don't know when or where what happened to it. It also says he did the bakery. Robert, isn't the bakery still up? The bakery is where Soco is located. Yes. Okay. And Mr. Deval just so people know you're reading those are the records from Dr. Babcock who's giving him the credit for those construction projects. Right. And it says he was born in 1835. Robin, in case you need another reference. Okay. I think in the Babcock papers which are housed in the South Carolina library there actually is a small autobiography. I think that Ellington dictated to someone that where some of that information is gleaned in the records. Anything else on Mr. Ellington? Dr. J. D. Harris is he was an assistant position at the asylum for much of 1870. This was a really high profile appointment for a black physician at the time. He was actually only there for a year. If that he was he was pushed out of that position soon after he arrived. And he he wrote that the reason for this was solely and purely this is a quote solely and purely because of the prejudices which exist against my color and race. On these terms I can afford to be relieved. On these terms I can afford to suffer both insult and injury. But whether anyone can afford to insult and injure another on account of color is a question which time will determine. So Dr. Harris spent relatively little of his career in South Carolina. But he certainly was a figure of national significance and his decision to come here to work is a really important episode in his life. Dr. Harris of the six recommendations that we have is the only individual who was not enslaved. He was born a free person of color in North Carolina and made the choice to come to South Carolina which is a different situation than the other individuals we'll talk about today. So kind of tangential if you will to the story but the fact that he was here and a system physician in 1870 is an important important thing to keep in mind. So again so Dr. Harris is credited as being the first African-American physician on the Bull Street campus. He was also a Union Army surgeon during the Civil War and also a member of the Freedman's Bureau who enabled him to transition from slavery to freedom in 1865 and 66. Senator Nash's connection to the the campus. He was chair of the asylum board of regents for several years. Like Samuel Thompson Senator Nash was among the four electors from Richland County who attended that 1868 constitutional convention and was one of one of the individuals who made significant contributions to that document. He was elected to the South Carolina Senate in 1868 and served until the end of Reconstruction 1877. Mr. Nash was formerly enslaved by William Campbell Preston who was a president of South Carolina College. He was self-taught like the Thompson brothers but nonetheless became one of the most influential and well-respected politicians in Richland County. He first came to prominence in 1867 after arguing that the city was illegally keeping black taxpayers from accessing the poor house. The Freedman's Bureau sided with Nash although little was ultimately done prior to the massive government changes that began to occur in 1868. So Nash is one of those individuals who I think when we talk about the Reconstruction era is really a key a key figure for South Carolina and does have some connection to the Bull Street campus as from a service on the board of regents. And Senator Nash was probably one of the wealthiest and most influential African Americans in the city during the Reconstruction period. He is actually featured in the new African American History Museum in Washington DC. The Pearson Funeral Home in Columbia today, the founders of the funeral home are the descendants of Senator Nash. He owned a great deal of what is now Arsenal Hill. The Arsenal Hill Presbyterian Church on the corner of that landing and an assembly was actually the site of Senator Nash's home through much of the Reconstruction period and he's also one of the founders of the historic Randolph Cemetery and is buried on that site. The final individual who we have a recommendation for and again because of his association with the campus is Benjamin H. Campbell. He worked at the asylum in the 1880s and perhaps earlier than that before Emancipation Campbell was enslaved by John Crawford who was known to have maintained a greenhouse and avidly pursued horticulture. The Clarkson houses on the corner of Blanding still stands on the corner of Blanding and Bull Street and was known for its landscapes. We don't know a lot about Benjamin Campbell but his story, his engagement in horticulture certainly would provide an opportunity to talk about some of the horticultural therapy that occurred on the campus as well as exploration of the types of plants that were used. So we put the recommendations that we had kind of in some order. Campbell is again an important name to remember not necessarily at the level of the Thompson or McLennan but we wanted to offer him as well. So Robin, so what you've done here if I understand correctly we prioritized the names that you're recommending correct? We did yes. Okay thank you. I think part of that Council McDowell is you know an individual like Senator Nash is such an important figure in Columbia and certainly has a connection to the campus. I think there are going to be opportunities throughout the city to recognize Senator Nash and there may be others who have a have a more direct connection to the campus that that might not make sense in other places in the community. So that that is also part of the consideration in at least those six that we have. I know Dr. Donaldson has some other thoughts. Now the number of buildings that Mr. Batkop I shouldn't say introduce but the number of buildings on the campus that were contributions of Mr. Ellington numbered how many? I don't know that off the top of my head but we can certainly go back and look at that. Okay I think that's in the book that Council McDowell referenced and we can get that to you. Okay what's the name of that book? Asylum Doctor. Asylum by Charles Bryan. And I think I think Dr. Bryan is probably one of the most knowledgeable people about the Bull Street property and knows a great deal about Paige Ellington and can probably give some additional detail about his career and his contributions. Okay thank you. And I'll say to Councilman McDowell those are those are the ordered recommendations of Historic Columbia. I don't challenge or endorse them at the moment. I'm still meditating on this in part because as Councilman D'Vall mentioned somehow or another there was a story in the state newspaper that I think mentioned our names and then it led to a series of phone calls and emails from various people and so I'm just simply reporting to you what was given to me and if I need to make recommendations I'll be glad to do so. So among the additional names that came to our attention is one that's very obvious Dr. Matilda Evans the second African-American woman in South Carolina to receive a license to practice medicine very prominent civic leader already one of the major thoroughfares in the Bull Street campus is named for her. She treated a number of patients or at the time called inmates from the asylum. Her name has come to our attention as well. Another name that has come to our attention who had an association with the Bull Street property was a man named I.S. Levy the original I.S. Levy who was as it says in this flyer the undertaker for the state hospital complex. Mr. Levy in addition to being a prominent businessman was deeply involved in civil rights. One of the founders of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference a close advisor to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the real force of the Republican Party in South Carolina for much of the early part of the 20th century. In addition he also had a very prominent business in the historic African-American business corridor on Washington Street. Another name associated with with the Bull Street community is the Reverend James M. Hinton a World War II veteran a very prominent insurance agent in Columbia and for a long period of time the president of the South Carolina NAACP. He was also the pastor of the Second Calvary Baptist Church when it was located on Bull Street and in doing his tenure as pastor of Second Calvary. He was a chaplain for Negro patients in the state of silence both on in Bull Street and also at Crafts what is now Crafts Farrell. He was a very prominent member of the Waverly community and lived on Hyde Street and as best I recall beyond a state marker in front of the site of his home there is very little else about that Chronicles Hinton's contributions in the city. Another minister associated with particularly not necessarily Bull Street but with the Crafts Farrell property is the Reverend C. J. Whitaker. There was a time maybe two generations ago you cannot run for office in Columbia without sitting on his front porch. He was the a real leader in getting out the vote from the Greenview community. If anybody wants to know now why Greenview is such a prominent force in the city it is because of Reverend Whitaker. He was the president of what was called the North Columbia Civic Club which still exists. He was minister in the North Columbia area but he was also an employee of the Crafts Farrell facility as part of the state mental health properties. There is now a street sign that honors Reverend Whitaker in the Greenview community. Another name is obvious is Majesca Monteep Simpkins. There is a great deal in Columbia about her life but Ms. Simpkins was in addition to being a strong civil rights leader a very strong champion of African American public health including mental health and throughout the later part of the 60s she was one of the sharpest critics of the mental health conditions facing African Americans both at the Bull Street property and also at Crafts Farrell. She pushed for the integration of the medical practitioners there. She did this in collaboration with another organization that is not as widely known as her work with the NAACP but it's a name that also came to our attention. Someone said it should be called the Citizens Park for the Richland County Citizens Committee and this was an organization largely of women who joined Ms. Simpkins in both voter registration campaigns challenging the segregation in public schools but also challenging the living conditions of inmates of patients in state mental health properties. One of the more prominent voices in the Citizens Committee was a woman named Ms. Beatrice McKnight who was a later real force in the Urban League. Another name that came to our attention is Dr. Harry Wright who is a graduate of the University of South Carolina, the Wharton School of Business at UPenn and also received his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Wright was probably one of the most prominent African American child psychiatrists in the country. He did his early work at the William S. Hall Psychiatric Institute on the Bull Street property. He's also one of the early supporters of what is now the Man Simons Cottage under the stewardship of Historic Columbia. Now ironically John C. Bull, a physician was a graduate of Claflin University and the Meharry School of Medicine. He was a prominent civil rights leader and physician in Spartanburg but he was the first African American member of the State Mental Health Commission appointed I believe in the late 1960s and so he is the first African American member of that organization. So imagine the Bull Street Park, the Bull Park on the Bull Street property named for someone who is certainly very deserving of such recognition. Now I want to conclude with a name that's come up before, a name we would probably never heard of but whose name was Hillard Bell. I spoke this morning to his granddaughter whose name is LaVenia Sims Patterson who's from the Book of Washington Hyatt's community and she has vivid memories of visiting her grandfather Hillard Bell who was the cook on the Bull Street property. His home she said was near the corner of Elmwood, the corner of Hardin and Calhoun in that area not too far from where the park is located. Mrs Patterson, when the Bull Street baseball facility was built, told me that she wrote a letter to City Council and never got a response back and she very much wanted to call the stadium, the arena, the full stadium and she did so because she wanted to recognize not only her grandfather all of the African Americans who lived and worked on the property who were largely overlooked or forgotten and so Hillard Bell would be one of those people recognized in a people's park on the facility and that brings me back to Paige Ellenton. The more I've read about him, the more I'm fascinated and intrigued by him. If Dr. Babcock is right, so much of that space that we now celebrate was a direct result of his labors. I was glad to see his name on the list of Historic Columbia. I think we should give his name serious consideration in part because it's not just about Paige Ellenton. It's about all the largely unknown figures who lived and worked on that property who built it and it caused it to sustain at the level that has to date. So I'm really excited about all these names but incredibly excited about the possibility of recognizing Paige Ellenton's contributions in some respect. So Mr. Simons, that is our report. We'll be glad to entertain any questions people may have. Mr. Chairman, the comments that I got after the state newspaper article, the one about Paige Ellenton came from Craig Pierce who used to be on county council and is now chairman of the mental health commission for South Carolina. He's the one that sent me this information and from that information he sent me, I got the book, The Asylum Doctor and have enjoyed about halfway through it right now. But he also said that 2021 is the 200th anniversary of the founding of the Mental Health Institute and the mental health commission would be having a year-long celebration about mental health facility in South Carolina, the Bull Street property and everything else. So I am just overwhelmed with the research that you all have done and brought up all these other people that have made significant contributions that need to have some type of honor either on Bull Street or in other appropriate places around the city for what they did during their time. But I think we need to look towards the mental health commission also as doing some things for the Bull Street property during their 200th anniversary. Not many organizations can say we've been here 200 years. Well just a word of thanks to both Robin and Dr. Donson for this is a list. Everybody ought to be everybody ought to have something on Bull Street according to this list here. It is just absolutely wonderful to hear some of the names recognized and recommended. Of course there are several folk on there not that it was during my time but Reverend C.J. Whitaker knew him well when I passed it here in Columbia. He was and I think you're right Dr. Donson, he was a kingmaker. He was a kingmaker in North Columbia. If you wanted to run for an office he was the person to talk to. He could either make you or tell you to go home and continue to work for a living. But he was he was certainly an astronomical man. He'd given us some because as the project as this project continues to evolve it is our task to as a committee to of course come up with a name and of course pass that on to council. So this is real valuable information. We won't do that today. It's going to perhaps facilitate another meeting from us to kind of go through all of the materials that we've already heard from you guys because we hadn't heard from Robert yet and we need to hear from Robert. Robert give us tell us give to us what you're thinking and what the huge huge company is thinking about. Yes sir. Thank you for the opportunity to be a part of this. Reverend MacGow and everyone and Dr. Donaldson and Robin that was that was awesome. I'm clicking away and typing so much. I think we'll share all of those names with us and I look forward to I've learned a lot but I know there's a lot more to learn than what you've done. I'll continue and thank you for all the work that you did and I'm very excited about work that's been done in the process and but I think it's going to be a really neat opportunity to showcase some of the history that's been less told and deserves to be told and Dr. Donaldson one of the first things he said was you want you believe and we certainly believe that the park needs to be a classroom. One of the things we've said about Bull Street from very early on is the history on this campus is something to be celebrated to be learned from and not to be forgotten. So it's important that we tell all parts of that story and we be sure to give take opportunities what we have to tell us in the park is the perfect place to do that. You know we're going to do it not only the history of human beings and their input and impact on the site not only the history of mental health we're also going to do it and the environmental impact having some of the decisions made in the park that I know Gregory Tucker mentioned at the last meeting some of the things that have happened inside the park from an environmental standpoint that are really we think never been done before in our country we're going to have a great impact on the ecology of some of our urban streams and flooding conditions downstream. So the park is going to be a place of learning and what you the list you guys put together is I don't know I'm incredibly excited about I'm also excited that a lot of some of the names on that list have already been on our radar and we've already begun honoring them. You mentioned Dr. Matilda Evans and we were really excited at the opportunity to name one of the streets here after Dr. Matilda Evans but we also have already named the street after Dr. McClennon and one of the streets very near the park from parallel to Greg Street and another name that's not on the list and I think could have been not quite the tie to the park or to Bull Street but Septima Poinsett-Clarke one of the first graduate of Benedict College an African-American teacher here a huge had a huge impact during the civil rights movement we've submitted recently to name a street in what we call the Tech Village Septima Street and so honoring her and all of her contributions to the history of Columbia and her time her 17 years spent here as a school teacher. So something that is obviously important to the district and this list will help us with more names and more opportunities to tell some stories and be sure we're doing that the right way. One thing that we have an idea that we have had that I think could be additive to this process and something that we think would be really fun for the community for the district gain interest not only in the names that were listed today potentially some others that we might have missed but also if we did more of a public process a naming contest of sorts like the baseball team did find a way to really engage the public and get information again about these people and the impact that they've had these ideas get them out into the public realm and use I think it's I think no one here wants to have a total voting contest but I think having some kind of a public input period allowing allowing this process to be the broad could be something really fun for the district and for all the different groups that deserve recognition because it one thing was clear to me after the presentation you guys just made it's that everyone on that list deserves to be honored and recognized for the contributions that they made to this city to this state most of them specifically to the site so that that's the only thing we we think we can bring to the table to this is eventually leveraging our networks social media networks our distribution list the folks in the neighborhoods around bull street that we're constantly in trying to engage the folks that are working at bull street today and potentially use that as an opportunity to showcase all of these names not just a couple committee meetings but really try to push it out broadly and get a lot of input feedback and and spotlight on these folks that really have done some amazing things for our state thank you Robert Sam yeah um let me say that I think well I congratulate Robert and Dr. Dawson for for the research and a lot of the information I've known some people who can val valed the presentation I'm I'm one of the ones that have sat in um Reverend Woodard because living room and I've worked with Madesca Simkins known September clock the folks like that and I can attest to what they mean to this city and the progress of the city of Columbia I think I'm I'm I'm a traditionalist I kind of think that we need to make sure that we hold true to the commitment we've made with bull street and that number one it would be a show place but it also would reflect the commitments we made as far as the economic impact and and one of the things again that one of the hidden I think gratitude of all of this is that um with some of the folks that that were sort of highlighting they um some did not have the real pleasure of economic success although they their efforts and and their tasks contributed to the um I think the success of others and I think that's one of the things that um I'm hoping that we in some form of fashion uh that's part of the message that uh when we talk about that impact and with each one of the people we talked about um represent impact in their own way so as long as we continue this process I'm asking and I'm certain that it will keep that in mind because I will also I think the the the information is uh some of it is some eye openness for me I've had a relationship with mental health and that facility over the I guess the property over the years in a different form how would you remember when the Department of Mental Health and Department of Mental Retardation were one and then they separated yeah and uh a lot of folks who some were born in that facility I think some of their family members are now living throughout the communities in South Carolina and not in an institution because some of the because of some of the groundwork that was laid on that campus um yes how I was gonna I was gonna say uh I was gonna ask Mr Chairman and Robert uh Robert how do you do you want us to ask you to do a public relations or a public campaign to ask for suggestions on that how what do you need from us to get going on that uh by understanding and I've not I've not read the um the policy and the procedure that we that needs to be followed from the city to name something like the park but my understanding um is that regardless of we can seek as much public we should seek public and that's my desire but ultimately this committee that recounts members on this committee will make the ultimate decision uh we submitted we wrote a rough outline of something we thought could be a public process we've secured uh the domain name bullstreetpark.com uh we think would be a fun exercise to to require folks uh or to encourage folks to go onto the website and give a name any reasons and supporting evidence why that name is it makes sense uh their contact information and then get back together what we what we put out there was get back together with this group including Robin and Dr. Donaldson and and review those names look through see if I imagine uh I think I counted 14 or 15 suggestions from today I imagine all of those uh you know you could definitely come up with 10 but come up with say 10 or so that we think are worth more comment and more feedback and present those back to the community and let the community provide additional color or insight or feedback on those ideas and then take that feedback as a group and say guys this is you know there's a there's consensus hopefully among there has to be consensus among the three of you but hopefully everybody rallies behind one name one way in which to honor that that park name and the right thing to do and then uh recommend I guess think that would have to go from the committee to the full city council city council then vote on that name approve that name and then hopefully we can do that I was thinking in 60 days ish and then sometime later this spring as the grass is growing great in the park and the park is blooming we have a true ground or true opening of the park a true event hopefully events will be okay by then or a little more okay but definitely be outdoors if you try to have some kind of celebration to honor the opening of the park the uh the strides that we've made inside the bull street district and whatever the name of the park is uh folks that were involved in helping choose that name from the person that submits it on the internet to uh to the family that that is involved if it's a name of a family and and folks related and tied into that family to bring everyone together and have really a a um a true ceremony and celebration of that and use use that all time as a way when we put those 10 ideas out into the public for comment we really try hard to be sure all and get some time in the sun really get a spotlight shown on them and let their stories be told knowing that we have to pick one there's only one park at full street but hopefully it then means that the other the other nine all the other ones we're putting out there get some time in the sun and then we can all work to find other ways either inside the district or elsewhere to make sure that the proper respects are paid to everyone that deserves sure that sounds like a very good plan one to think yeah one of the things that we talked about initially and and I think uh both Howard and Sam sort of heard that was that uh we needed to have not only the input of Robin and Dr. Donson but also to get some public input in terms of the uh the names uh we did not want to do this hurriedly but we wanted to do it in such a way that persons so actually so it could be transparent that are committed just didn't come up with a name that um I think Howard had a name initially and we decided that's when we needed some help y'all didn't like the vowel part that that's when we needed some help so Robert yeah that's that's the process we talked about initially because we want everybody to have quote unquote say some ownership into what's taking place on Bull Street now I must say to you unequivocally September clock was a member of mine in Charleston so I knew I knew her well actually she lived around the corner for me she taught at Freedom School and of course that's one of those names that we hear um we hear folks say uh September pun set clock but we don't know the history behind that so to to to put a to put a sign up with her name on that street sign means a lot I think we've got a good start I think the committee's work is before us uh we will certainly would want to invite you all back again as we the committee of course have conversation with what we've heard today it has been very insightful it has given each of us an opportunity to reflect on the contributions of every name that was raised but I think the other side of that is getting the word out uh perhaps look at Bull Street park dot com and having folk to look at that and perhaps them submitting some some names so it will give us an opportunity to bring this back to bring it back to a city council for approval Mr. Chairman can can we ask that Robert and Henry uh coordinate with the publicity that goes out to the public so that we make sure that the city has a good uh eye on what's being publicized one thing that I'm thinking about is that the person or if you're naming it for a person the person got to be dead uh that's that's why we couldn't name it the ballpark saying like that but uh if we could ask Robert to coordinate with Henry I think that would let us get off the good running start here uh to get this thing rolling and get some good publicity on it and get if we came up with what was it 15 10 names this afternoon most of whom I had never heard of uh we're likely to come up with a whole lot more if we put it out to the public and and and get get a lot more things and but I think there's a lot more we can do than just name the park uh I'm thinking about that walking trail I think Dr. Donaldson would would love to have the opportunity to decorate that walking trail with uh a bench seat with a uh a little plaque plaque there and saying this was so-and-so's cotton field or whatever we want to say but it it gives us an opportunity to do some education right there uh as well as the leisure park sure well if well if Henry if Henry could put that on his table I don't know if he has room enough to put it on his table but it would right under the pickle ball under the it would certainly be good if Robert if you and the uh and Henry could work out that mechanism of getting things sort of off the ground as it relates to putting it out there if we could do that what you think that sounds great to me I would I don't think we should take any step publicly without total coordination and uh and buying from the city and really everybody on this call so right I would I'd love to work with you Henry we're not going to let you do that Robert you should this has been a very enlightening meeting and I do want to thank Robin and Dr. Donaldson for for coming up with this and uh and uh Robert thank you for being with us this afternoon too although we'd much rather have Chandler I understand I understand and please give him my regrets for not being I may just call her just to say hello thank you look one one one of the things that I think is very needful this will not be our our last gathering um we will need to talk over a few things the committee will meet and of course uh we'll continue we'll have Robert and the ACM to sort of get into the free of things in terms of having us coordinate a public response to the request of the part renaming of the park I think we're on the good I think we got a good start this is not to take place tomorrow another next month uh I think you're right COVID is still among us and I think we need to be very we need to be very very careful about uh our in-person so zoom as has helped tremendously uh Robin Dr. Donaldson you all have helped us tremendously today that's why we asked you all to come thank you so thank you all so very very much our city manager yes miss Wilson yes would you like to say something in closing I think mr. Davis had his hand raised to miss government I'm sorry I do have a point of some clarification points but glad mr. Davis no I've just um as I sort of hinted I kind of go way back with with some of the history on this but I'm just impressed with the research that has been done it kind of tells from my perspective it tells you a lot that it was the the people and the workers and not necessarily the the stars that made made that facility work and and and its contribution is that it it really paved the way for people to um become the institutionalized and and be integrated back into society you know that you know that's that was my foundation with it so I think at the end of the day um when the many or whatever story is told uh people would have a deep appreciation for it yes thank you thank you sir miss wilson remit doll I just want to make sure for you know we have our merchant orders clear and as Henry and Robert um you know go to work on the public input aspect it sounds like that you all want to still capture this historical theme um and or um individuals who have had some type of connection to bull street and or dmh and so I think when you do put it out to the public um to the point of is it an individual that yes it sounds like you want an individual not a theme um or a name of the part that's a theme but but an individual I'm asking that question for clarity and then I think I don't think it necessarily has to be an individual but it could be what the lady wanted to name people's park or something like that of the the stadium that's right yeah people's park it could be the people's park and then we have a series of of markers of some sort of things like we have down main street to to speak to the different families that have had input into the bull street property that might be one thing um well if that's the case I think then that's why I'm asking because the when you when you put something out to the public I know it sounds good and I'm all for it and I understand everyone's um you know transparency and everything but you also get back you you have to put it out in a way for what you want to receive back of ideas and if it's an individual the individual's got to be dead and we would like to have the individual with a significant connection to the bull street property to the mental health services provided on the bull street property to the building of the buildings on the bull street property to to the 200 year history of mental health in South Carolina but that doesn't rule that doesn't rule out a theme I think that's what miss wilson yeah I don't that does not rule out a theme is that correct that's my understanding yeah okay so so so we're looking at significant points in the park where a person's name where we could identify whether it's a bench or whether it's a marker with a person's name there that does not rule out the the um a theme for that park well councilman McDowell that's why I mentioned specifically when I mentioned so Majesca Simpkins is a name now much better known in Colombia but she was in charge of a group called the richland county citizens committee the reason why I mentioned that was because you could easily and if you want to move in this theme direction still keep to the history by creating a space called citizens park that references this historic organization that pushed for improved mental health um intervention of African residents of Colombia and so it it aligns itself with what miss simms told me about a people's park does not does not acknowledge as one person but a collective I'm always careful about naming out the people dead or alive because that becomes a real political um a dance as well uh and I think for the committee I'm just giving my observations from listening I'm all for you putting it out there I just think you need to have some um parameters around what you're trying to receive back so if you are looking more for an overarching theme similar to what dr. Donaldson just said I think you've got to put some things out there because you could get any kind of you know I mean you want to put out there some ideas of what it is to to the exact the exact example that dr. Donaldson just gave you know citizens park I really think you should just put personally I think you should put out examples and let people let the public and the citizens weigh in on the examples so you don't start getting too much um I think you let them weigh in on those examples and maybe have an additional method for them to provide um their own ideas as well but it certainly needs to be in line with what you're trying to achieve I'm not a fan of just putting it out there blanketly I'll just be honest because I think you're we're gonna get into um it's gonna move away from the potentially what you what you talked about on this phone call I I I think I I think we've covered a lot of ground but you know in what appears to be the conclusion of today's discussion um I don't my my opinion I don't have a problem I think I could I could uh support be supportive of the um citizen's part but the outcome of that would could be um since we've really outlined some significant contributions people have made to that property and to mental health in in this in the state that you could include individual histories as we've pretty much discussed this morning you know whether it's in a part citizen's part or whether it's in in in in that park and you strategically point out the contributions of the people that we've talked about today I think you then can encapsulate all of that um if it's citizen's part or if it's it's Majesca Simkins part whatever Majesca Simkins has a story um so you know that's where my head is I don't have a problem well I don't have a problem with it I mean I've listed 17 names here and each one of those names have significant uh have made significant contributions to the uh Bull Street property uh something could very well something could very well be said about each one of these persons Dr. Donaldson has done and both Dr. Donaldson and uh Robin has done a good job in telling us something about these folk so each one of the folks have a significant piece of history uh in their lives and in the lives of this city of ours I think it gives us an opportunity and I think it's a two-pronged approach we identified we've identified 17 persons perhaps there'd be more uh I think too late to to put to put on the table perhaps some themes as an example in using our website but I think we could probably utilize both of these things the names and a theme perhaps so it gives us it gives us some work to do why don't you let Robert and Henry put together some criteria and run it by a city manager that'd be great to see if if they're getting in the ballpark that'd be great that'd be great I'm sure I'm sure if it was left up to me with my theme would be Ed McDowell's Fun Park amen and I bet don't back away from that but I'm still living that's right I'm still living I think it gives us an opportunity Robert and Henry to sort of look through this and allow the city manager to sort of look into this with with what we get and what we could put out there for folks to see very good meeting mr chairman Robert did I think Robert had his hand raised I'm sorry Robert yes sir you wrapped it up for me the only thing I might add it would be you know I think manager Wilson's comment about it being just a free for all is how we how we get the how we get the respondents well how we work through the respondents those are the details that I think your points right that that Henry and I can brainstorm some ideas take them to Teresa and the team and and really not launching anything without a good understanding of you know what we want to ask for but how we ask for what we do with it and how it comes back and and maybe it's we put out all 14 names from today and and ideas and we say here comment on these and give us some others and we just have one round of input I I don't know I think that you know we we put together one idea before we knew all these names we're going to be coming together um from Dr. Donaldson Robin and so now it's how we merge it all together it seems like everybody's pretty much in agreement that um that we probably can't go wrong with any one of the 14 and and there's a good way to get some some positive uh coverage and press and input from the public so let's let's do it and I'm excited I think it'll be really cool well I think I think it gives us an opportunity to not only be transparent in our understanding of what we want to do and to rename the park but also gives both an understanding in terms of our community residents an opportunity to say this is good and this is not and I think I think that's the that's the thrust of what we want to do and how we do it the committee of course will wait on Robert the committee will wait on you and uh assistant uh city manager to kind of come through start to start that process of talking through what how we need to do this and of course we will get together again to um see what you all come up with this is a slow but significant and meaningful project so we don't want to do it haphazardly we want to make sure we think through this thing very thoroughly thank you who is it I'm sorry yeah no no problem just real quickly I just wanted to really thank Dr. Donaldson myself as well as Robin for all the work that they did and putting this together I thought that information was amazing um and I think as Mr. Wilson has shared I think we need to be clear in messaging to the to the public those examples I think is spot on that'll help us kind of narrow down um how we deliver the message to the public so I will really solicit I would like to solicit the help of Dr. Donaldson as well as Robin on what we come up with before I bring that back to the city manager for review if that's okay with Dr. Donaldson I don't want to put any more work on you but I just would like your eyes as well as Robin because you all are subject matter experts on this so we would like to kind of see well I'd like you to see what we come up with if that's okay Henry you know I my response is where you lead I'll follow okay I appreciate that great great the chick is in the mail for you and Robin okay I'll be waiting for you what are you looking to meet again in about two weeks yeah with the initial or yes ma'am what I'd like to do after talking to Howard and Sam if we could start at least talking about this with Henry and Robert uh and say in two weeks we get back together again to kind of see where we are okay how about that Robert Henry is that good for you both yeah okay just tell Chandler we need her on the call the next time not that Reese is asking the wrong person she said she should say is that good for Chandler's schedule okay let me say just a word of thanks thank you all again for your insightful participation thank you all again for all of the knowledge that you've imparted upon each one of us Robin thank you very much like Donson thank you very much for your both of you all's continued gifts of helping us walk through this I think it's very meaningful that we have these kinds of conversation thank you all so much Henry thank you city manager thank you thank you yeah y'all go well stay well yes everyone I say thank you all