On April 19, just days after President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Fair Housing Act into law, Seattle City Council passed its own open housing ordinance. The bill was spearheaded by City Councilmember Sam Smith, the first African American member of Seattle City Council, who served as Council President from 1974 to 1977 and again from 1986 to 1989. The park was dedicated to him in September 1998.