JDP supporters march to courthouse steps

The resurrection of Jimmy Davis Park received a very public show of support Saturday morning as more than 200 local residents marched the mile from the park to a rally on the Putnam County Courthouse lawn in downtown Eatonton.

Unified chants of “Save the park,” led by Georgia NAACP President Gerald Griggs inspired a long line of JDP supporters who walked up Jefferson Avenue, then snaked their way along Marion Street before gathering in front of the courthouse steps. Joining Griggs among the crowd were Putnam County Commission Chairman Bill Sharp, County Commissioner Daniel Brown, whose District 2 includes the oft-neglected park, and two of Jimmy Davis’ daughters.

Following a brief blessing of the event by former president of the Putnam County NAACP Chapter, Pastor Troy Daniel, local JDP activist, and rally organizer “Rino” Boles traded comments with fellow organizer Richard Garrett.

A brief history of the park named for one of Putnam County’s first two Black commissioners followed. Garrett explained the park was created more than 50 years ago “in the twilight of segregation.” Boles responded by saying, “At its best, Jimmy Davis Park was the heart of our community, hosting sports events, church socials, and family gatherings.”

That all changed about a decade ago, though, as the park fell into disrepair, lost its staffing and much of its equipment, then began to be neglected by local officials as it fell victim to repeated acts of vandalism. Jimmy Davis, the park, and the man, were, unfortunately, being disrespected, forgotten, and allowed to fade into memory. It’s only because some in the community never forgot the vibrant, positive influence that “our park” had on the neighborhood that it even has a chance to revive and survive today.

“There are people here today who began fighting for Jimmy Davis Park years or decades ago,” Boles said. “But resentment has been building and people feel disrespected.”

Garrett then pointed out that the county refused to even put JDP on the agenda of public meetings for years and even tried unsuccessfully to hand the park back to the city last year.

About that same time, the park’s plight came to the attention of Senator Raphael Warnock and State Senator Rick Williams, among others that now include Putnam County commissioners who have stepped up with funding for recent clean-up efforts to JDP grounds and repairs to its central administrative and activities building.

The work is not done, though, and 10-year-old London Bonner was enlisted to rattle off what essentially amounted to a lengthy “wish list” for Jimmy Davis Park.

In a halting, but still confident voice London read from a sheet of paper, saying local residents are asking for “… sports equipment like we used to have; a new children’s playground; a new scoreboard for weekend tournaments again; working lights for the basketball court and sports field, and parking lot power and lights under the pavilion; a new grill and table and chairs; new bleachers; clean accessible restrooms; the return of the program to the Jimmy Davis Park building for kids, young adults, and seniors; the return of the computers, TVs, and games inside the building; a repaired walking track; more police patrols and cameras around the park to promote safety and deter crime; a transparent county budget so everyone can see exactly what it is being spent on Jimmy Davis Park; and open communication between the county departments and the community.”

Once the applause died down, London was an admittedly tough act to follow, but County Commissioner Sharp inherited the microphone and set about laying out what he envisions the county doing over the near future at Jimmy Davis Park.

“My grandaddy used to say, ‘You have to crawl before you walk and you have to walk before you run, and we need to get to that running stage,” Sharp declared.

He acknowledged the laundry list of repairs and upgrades the park needs and said he and County Manager Paul Van Haute want to sit down and discuss priorities with those behind the Save Jimmy Davis Park movement.

“We need to get together and develop a plan,” Sharp said. “Now, I want to tell you budgeting season starts in July. There was no budget this year. There was no line item for Jimmy Davis Park and Bill Sharp favors a line item for Jimmy Davis Park. But we’ve got to get together and get moving.”

After Patricia Hurt, another local community leader, reminded everyone it is the responsibility of everyone living around the park, as well as those just enjoying it as visitors, to take care of its facilities and discourage anyone out to abuse or misuse it, Griggs finally returned to the microphone.

After telling the crowd how impressed he was by the crowd on hand, he turned and praised the efforts of Boles and Garrett and all the other Save Jimmy Davis Park leaders who managed to secure such a sizable turnout.

Griggs described growing up in Glenwood Hills, just a few miles east of downtown Atlanta, where he learned to play football, baseball, and soccer.

“And I want every single child, Black, white, Hispanic, whoever, to have that same experience. Because it molds you, it teaches you teamwork, it teaches you things that you carry on the rest of your life,” Griggs said. “And I’m glad that Chairman Sharp was here to make promises to the community. But I’m going to turn back into the attorney and the president of the NAACP right now and say something.

“If elected officials don’t make good on the promises they made to you, you call me. Because we hold elected officials in this state accountable. We did it in Columbus two weeks ago. We did it in Americus a week ago. And we’re doing it here in Putnam County today. I’m tired of folks making promises to a certain segment of the community and then not living up to them.”

Finally, Jimmy Davis’s second of four daughters, Cynthia Davis thanked everyone for remembering her father and caring so much about his namesake park.

“My dad was a quiet man and I stand here on behalf of my father who would be so proud of every one of you. And those that knew him personally, you know that he would be without a shadow of a doubt,” she said. “And I want to say thank you to the organizers, thank you for your vision, for taking the baton that he carried as long as he could and now you are running with it. He ran his race. Now it’s up to each of us to run our leg of the race.”

Click here to watch a video of the march.