Overton honored with renaming ceremony

As you may recall, Lamar Beach at Town Lake Metro Park was recently renamed to honor Austin civil rights icon Volma Overton Sr. The Parks and Recreation Department invites the public to celebrate Overton’s legacy at a renaming ceremony for Volma Overton Sr. Beach. Overton, who served as president of the Austin chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, had a long history of civil rights advocacy and “critical and transformational” contributions to the city of Austin. According to PARD’s news release, “One of his many other accomplishments included desegregating the Austin Independent School District through a lawsuit he filed in 1970, which named his daughter, DeDra, as the lead plaintiff. Additionally, he fought alongside Boy Scout Troop #70 to integrate the swimming pool at Bastrop State Park in 1963.” The renaming ceremony will be held outdoors on Saturday, June 11, 9 a.m., Town Lake Metropolitan Park, 1003 W. Cesar Chavez St.