The Civil Rights Movement and the Future of the National Park System in a Racially Diverse America

Abstract

The U.S. National Park System contains places of world-renowned beauty and tremendous historical significance that represent some of the central values and experiences in American culture, democracy, and freedom for everyone, for all time. However, the vast majority of visitors to these parks are white, which has increasingly been seen as a problem as it suggests a lack of full participation by all members of society. While there are several perspectives on low minority visitation, it is possible that park policies or interpretation may not appeal to, or may unintentionally exclude minority visitors. This study examines how efforts to expand the inclusiveness and representativeness of the park system may affect its geography. Recent National Park Service plans to commemorate the Civil Rights movement are examined with the goal of understanding how the geography and purpose of the park system may be changed over time. The expansion of the park system into cultural themes will likely necessitate a continual expansion of the number and kinds of park units.

Key Words:

• National parks
• African Americans
• Civil Rights tourism
• historic site

Notes

The definition of ‘historical’ has changed over time. In 1937, the NPS was not concerned with any structure built after 1860 (changed to 1870 in 1941). Since 1952, historic sites were defined as being over 50 years old, though exceptions were allowed (Mackintosh 1985). Many important events of the Civil Rights movements are or will soon be commemorating their 50th anniversaries, removing this barrier to preservation and commemoration.

Interestingly, Reitman (2006) suggests that the idea of colorblind spaces can be traced back to the Civil Rights movement and particularly Dr Martin Luther King's ‘I Have a Dream’ speech, which was delivered in August 1963 at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, a unit of the National Park System.

Lowell NHS in Boston is also now heavily utilized by a local Cambodian population (Joyner 2005). The park has no thematic ties or previous links to Cambodians but has worked to establish a connection to the community, including the establishment of a walking tour through the Cambodian neighborhood.

Curtis (1996) makes frequent use of National Register information for Civil Rights sites, and so draws heavily on the historic preservation work done by the NPS, as does Savage (1994) for her guide to African American historic sites. The Park Service has also issued several reports that discuss locations associated with the heritage of Hispanics, Asians, and African Americans (Joyner 2003; 2005; 2009) that are within national parks, have been designated as NHLs, or are on the National Register of Historic Places. This includes lists of places recognized for their association with historic individuals, events, ideas, or architectural ideas associated with a particular group or era.

Visitation data is not available for these sites and their appeal to white visitors cannot be stated definitively. It may be that encouraging minority visitors to large outdoor national park sites is only one component of broadening participation in the National Park System. This remains to be examined in more detail.