A Sacramento Park Has Been Renamed in Honor of LeVar Burton

At the opening of LeVar Burton Park in Sacramento, California. Image City of Sacramento

JUNE 12, 2019 - A park in Sacramento, California got a new name today - courtesy of a Star Trek star.

LeVar Burton, best known for his role as Lt. Geordi LaForge on Star Trek: The Next Generation, grew up in south Sacramento. Today, local CBS affiliate CBS13 brought us the story that the former Richfield Park was renamed in his honor: LeVar Burton Park.

In addition to Star Trek, Burton is well-known for his roles in the TV miniseries “Roots” - for which he was nominated for a primetime Emmy - and the children’s TV show Reading Rainbow, which won several daytime Emmys. Burton is something of a local hero in Sacramento, having already been honored on the City’s inaugural Walk of Stars, in 2016.

At the ceremony, Burton explained that the park is situated in the neighborhood where he grew up. Before appearing at the ceremony, he visited a local middle school. He said, “We just came from John Still [Middle School] and my message to the kids was ‘If I can do it, so can you.’”

Attendees braved temperatures of over 90 degrees Fahrenheit to take part in the ceremony, but they were rewarded with music, food trucks and other activities, paid for by Mayor Darrell Steinberg and the City of Sacramento.