Department of History Public History Graduate Project Reports
Term of Award
Spring 2022
Degree Name
Master of Arts in History (M.A.)
Document Type and Release Option
Graduate Internship Report (Open Access)
Copyright Statement / License for Reuse
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Department
Department of History, College of Arts and Humanities, Georgia Southern University
Committee Chair
Lisa L. Denmark
Committee Member 1
Michael Scott Van Wagenen
Committee Member 2
Michelle Haberland
Abstract
Savannah, Georgia maintained separate and unequal public park systems for Black and white people from the end of the Civil War until the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Black Savannahians were barred by custom from entering the largest parks, including Forsyth Park, a landmark for residents and visitors, and were allowed only in the historic Savannah squares situated in Black neighborhoods. The “Black” neighborhood parks were inferior in size, equipment, and greenery. Black swimmers could not use Daffin Park Lake or play without restriction on the only city-owned golf course. They played on basketball courts made of dirt while white people played on asphalt. At the municipal baseball stadium, also under the park system’s control, Black spectators were confined to segregated seating far from the action. Black taxpayers were paying for a superior park system for whites. The website “Jim Crow in Savannah’s Parks” uses documents from the City of Savannah Municipal Archives to detail how racism openly guided decisions by the Park and Tree Commission, and the Mayor and City Council, who decided where and when to build and improve parks and recreation facilities. Archives of Savannah’s main Black newspaper, the Savannah Tribune, provide a contemporaneous account of the struggles for Black residents to relax and recreate in the parks as they pleased.
Recommended Citation
Ofgang, Jeffrey M., "Jim Crow in Savannah's Parks" (2022). Department of History Public History Graduate Project Reports. 2.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/history-grad-internship/2
