Bob Marley poster

Spread the Love! Wilmington, Del., Names “One Love Park” in Honor of Bob Marley’s Hit Record

by Frederick H. Lowe

Before Bob Marley became reggae’s god, he worked the line as in the assembly line.

Marley worked in the Chrysler plant in Newark, Del., and lived with his mother, Cedella Booker, in nearby Wilmington, at 2313 Tatnall Street, across the street from Tatnall Playground.

On Thursday, the Wilmington City Council voted to rename the playground “One Love Park” in honor of Marley’s hit record “One Love”(People Get Ready), a track on his “Exodus” album, John Rago, director of Communications and Policy Development for the Wilmington City Council, tells The NorthStar News & Analysis.

“The lyrics of “One Love” and what the song has come to mean to people in the years since Bob Marley composed it is what I hope to capture by renaming the park,” said Theopalis K. Gregory, president of the Wilmington City Council, who first proposed changing the playground’s name. “We all need a reminder from time to time about the importance of love in our hearts for our children and for each other.”

Marley’s daughter, Cedella, has taken her father’s work and legacy and adapted a children’s book entitled “One Love.” The book is intended to remind new generations that amazingly positive things can happen in a community and people can feel alright when everyone comes together with love in their hearts (see today’s video).

The renaming of the playground has sparked worldwide interest in the park, which is about a half-square city block in size. Neighborhood associations  plan to improve the park by installing new equipment and new signage. Public Allies, a national and local group, intends to adopt the park. Work is scheduled begin on the park in August so area residents can use it during the summer, Rago said.

Marley moved to Wilmington with his bride Alfarita “Rita” Constantia Anderson. They married in Kingston, Jamaica,  on Feb. 10, 1966.

Since he did not have a work permit, Marley went by the name of Donald Marley, according to his biography “Catch a Fire: The Life of Bob Marley,” by Timothy White.

Marley also worked as a waiter and as a lab assistant at DuPont Chemical Co.

“He spent most of free time in the house on twenty-fifth street, keeping very much to himself, picking out tunes on an acoustic guitar and writing lyrics in the archetypal schoolboy’s ledger — a colonial composition book,” according to “Catch a Fire.”

In 1977, Marley, Peter Tosh and Bunny Waller released the album “Exodus,” which became mega hit, putting them on the road to international stardom.

Wilmington has hosted the People’s Festival since 1994 to honor Marley. The one-day festival is scheduled for July 26 and some of Marley’s relatives are expected to attend.