Chavis Park: History of segregation in recreation in Raleigh

John Chavis Memorial Park in Raleigh is known for its carousel and summer camps. Over the years, it has stood as a pillar of history in Raleigh. At the same time, it has experienced both despair and growth. The love for the park has never wavered.

Chavis Park welcomed Black community during segregation

Named for early 19th-century free Black preacher and teacher, John Chavis, the Raleigh park was opened as a recreational spot for the city’s African American residents during segregation.

“Built with contributions from the Works Progress Administration (WPA), and with solid backing from the local government and civic organizations, the park is one of a few segregated recreation facilities built in North Carolina during this period with federal funding confirming the complicity of the federal government with southern Jim Crow policies,” according to the Register of Historic Places.

Throughout the park today are monuments to that history.

A stone bench, known as the War Mothers Memorial, dates from World War II and sits on the edge of the park. Ballparks hosted baseball and football games and courts showcased tennis matches. The original park also featured an Olympic-sized swimming pool. The most recognizable feature of Chavis Park is its vibrant carousel.

The park is situated in a “traditional African American neighborhood.” It was such a novelty that Black families from throughout North Carolina, who had few recreational facilities prior to integration in the 1960s, visited the park in cars and buses on the weekends from the late 1930s to the late 1940s.

“As an undergrad, Chavis Park had everything – you had the carousel, you had the train, you had the airplane, you had football playing here, you had baseball,” Dr. Carol Love recounted. “It started to decline quite a bit. We lost the swimming pool; we lost the train.”

There was a trend that emerged as the South moved toward greater racial integration.

“Over time, the city did not maintain the same level of investment of Chavis like it did some of the other parks, so honestly, it did fall into some disrepair,” said Stephen Bentley, the director of parks, recreation and cultural resources for the City of Raleigh.

Across the South, many segregation-era buildings, accommodations and facilities developed for African Americans experienced neglect, abandonment, destruction or disinvestment.

“The city didn't do the best job at maintenance and supporting that important park," Bentley said. "[Its restoration] was due to community, really broad community support.”

Chavis Park updated for the present

Over the years, the park has seen several changes. Several people came together to make that happen.

“It is truly exciting and quite a blessing to see what the park has become,” Love said.

She served on the Wake County Parks and Recreation Commission, the Raleigh Parks and Recreation Advisory Board and the John Chavis Memorial Park Celebration Committee. She is also a professor emeritus at North Carolina State University.

She was a professor of parks, recreation and tourism management and associate dean for academic affairs in the NCCU College of Natural Resources.

“Getting involved in the master planning for the park was extremely important to me,” she told WRAL News.

“Chavis Park has remained a touchstone for the African American community in Raleigh, even after integration and despite dis-investment,” reads the National Register of Historic Place registration form.

Two professors from North Carolina State University, Celen Pasalar and Kofi Boone, of the department of landscape architecture and environmental planning, were instrumental in a collaboration between university's College of Design and the South Park-East Raleigh Neighborhood Association (SPERNA). The two worked to identify historical assets in the community. Their findings resulted in the proposed South Park Heritage Walk. In doing so, they gathered oral histories used to support an application for Chavis Park to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

“In terms of our work related to Chavis Park, enhancement of connections and entry points from/to the park and surrounding streets (particularly in relation to the proposed Heritage Walk routes and experiences) were important,” Pasalar told WRAL News.

Pasalar and Boone said they crafted recommendations for future renovation possibilities for Chavis Park.

“Sometimes, when we make decisions about how to change a place, if we don’t pay attention to that history, it can make people feel like they’re being discounted, disrespected, not listened to,” Boone said. “We were able to translate some of the values of that community into tools for others who were making decisions about that place understand the values that people had there.”

SPERNA was recognized in 2014 for its advocacy on behalf of the park.

Five years after a 2014 parks bond for $18 million was approved by voters, the park debuted a new splash pad, relocated carousel, two-story community center, a plaza and upgraded playground.

In 2021, The Downtown Raleigh Alliance honored the Chavis Memorial Park Redevelopment, along with four other construction projects.

Future promises more amenities at Chavis Park

On November 8, 2022, Raleigh voters approved another parks bond that will allow for further updates at Chavis Park including development of a new aquatic center and improvements to the Heritage Plaza, renovation and expansion of the John P. "Top" Greene Community Center, and implementation of the South Park Heritage Walk. Raleigh Parks is proposing the creation of a Joint Community Advisory Group (CAG), due to the proximity and shared interests of these three projects.

Love also hopes to see the return of other athletics like football and baseball fields.

The public will weigh in on how that money is spent.

“What we'll do is through 2024, we'll engage the community again," Bentley said. "What does that pool look like? Do you want lap pools or a lazy river? Based off of that community input, we'll come up with a design that the community is interested in and then hopefully initiate construction."

Volunteers are being sought through Sept. 1 to be part of that planning committee. Final appointment of the CAG will be by the Parks, Recreation and Greenway Advisory Board at their October 2023 meeting.

Raleigh Parks will be presenting the committee's recommendations to the Parks, Recreation and Greenway Advisory Board in October 2023. Official project kick-off is planned for late Fall 2023.