Enslaved from birth, she purchased her freedom in 1810. Now, D.C. park bears her name.

WASHINGTON (ABC7) — There is a new park in Northeast D.C. that was supposed to open months ago but couldn't because of the pandemic.

NoMa BID has been working to create Alethia Tanner Park for years, right off of Harry Thomas Way NE.

The community helped pick the name for the park. NoMa BID said in 2018 a list of names was presented to the community to vote on and more than 2,100 people participated and selected "Tanner Park" to honor Alethia Tanner.

Tanner was born a slave in Maryland in the 1780's and purchased her freedom in 1810, as well as the freedom of many family members.

NoMa BID said she supported several schools for Black children through her entrepreneurial ventures, including a produce stand in Lafayette Park. Tanner funded the education of family members who later became educational leaders in the district.

In March 2019, Ward 5 Councilmember Kenyan R. McDuffie introduced legislation to officially name the park “Alethia Tanner Park,” and the D.C. Council later passed the legislation.

The D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation worked with NoMa BID on this project. The department's director, Delano Hunter, said "Alethia Tanner, it's an amazing story of resilience, hard work, and perseverance. I just learned about this history through this, so it shows how when you name a park you really educate people on the historical significance."

The 2.5-acre park includes ample green space, a playground, dog park, space to host outdoor movie events, and a cafe.

In a rapidly developing community, with a lot of apartments and new development, Robin-Eve Jasper, President of NoMa BID, said the group felt it was important to put green space in this area.

"It’s important for people physiologically individually, but it’s also important as a community to have a place where people can get outside their apartments and be together and a very important part of NoMa BID’s past is having events where people celebrate together.”

Crews started to remove the fencing Thursday morning. NoMa BID said once all of the fencing is gone people will be able to enjoy the space. They expect the fencing to be completely removed by Thursday afternoon.