Files
Abstract
Tennessees State Park system was created in the late 1930s to provide recreation areas for the state. Four parks were initially brought into the system in 1937 in order to provide a basis for this system. Among these first four parks were two that were created specifically as parks for Negroes under the Jim Crow mandate of the time. These parks, T.O. Fuller and Booker T. Washington State Parks, were created as part of a proposed system of state parks for Negroes that were set to provide separate but equal recreational facilities across the state. The State Park System was officially desegregated in the early 1960s under an informal mandate from the Governor. Since then, these two state parks have operated under a de-facto policy of a black manager for a black park and have remained largely visited by African-Americans. This qualitative study seeks to examine the historical development and management of these two parks through the use of a descriptive approach. Through staff and visitor interviews and management document analysis, the study attempts to answer the following questions: (1) Are there differences in how these two parks were developed and managed due to their designations as State Parks for Negroes? (2) How has the historical designation effected the modern management and use of the parks? (3) How has visitation to these parks been affected by their history as State Parks for Negroes?