AURORA, Colo. — A Tuskegee Airman almost got a neighborhood named after him – instead, voters chose to rename Stapleton as Central Park. Now, a new clinic at the VA hospital in Aurora will bear his name.
Lt. Col. John W. Mosley served during World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam. He fought for integration in the military to make sure anyone could serve, regardless of race.
He was the first Black football player at Colorado State University, and a civil rights activist.
Last summer, the Mosleys' grandson, JC Futrell, and his family ran a campaign to rename the neighborhood now known as Central Park to "Mosley Park." The campaign made it to the final four names before it was voted out, and voters ultimately chose Central Park.
Monday, lawmakers in Washington passed a bill to name the new Aurora VA community-based outpatient clinic after Mosley.
The clinic is set to open in the summer of 2022.
Mosley's wife was a pioneer, too. Edna Mosley was also a community activist, and was the first Black woman elected to Aurora's city council.
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