Going forward, the park next to MacKenzie Hall on Sandwich Street will be known as Mary E. Bibb Park.
The City of Windsor announced the park would be renamed Tuesday morning during a virtual news conference.
The community effort to officially rename the park started in 2016. Unofficially it was already known as Mary E. Bibb Park by those living nearby.
City councillors voted unanimously in a closed-door meeting to change the name.
"I think from introduction to when it was approved may have taken all of 30 seconds," said Mayor Drew Dilkens. "It was a no-brainer."
Mary E. Bibb was Canada's first female Black journalist.
Community activist Teajai Travis hopes learning about the contributions of Bibb will inspire residents to learn more about the contributions of Canada's Black community.
"What we have in Sandwich Towne, we have a beautiful and interactive museum -- and what's happening right now is that historic spaces -- create a real energy for travel and tourism," said Travis. "My hope with the park being renamed after Mary Bibb -- it is going inspire people to take a walk down the road to look at the murals that are down there."
Bibb was born in Rhode Island around 1820, and moved to Sandwich after the passing of the Fugitive Slave Act in 1850. She later moved to Windsor.
Bibb and her husband, Henry Bibb, published the Voice of the Fugitive, a paper for Black Canadians. The couple also housed those that escaped slavery through the Underground Railroad to Canada.
Bibb was also an educator and business owner.
She died in 1877 after returning to the U.S. and settling in Brooklyn, New York.
