Segregation at Anacostia Park

Anacostia Park sits east of the Anacostia River in Washington DC.

NPS photo

Segregation was a harsh reality in the mid-20th century, with racial divisions shaping access to recreational facilities and military camps. Anacostia Park, nestled in the heart of Washington D.C., became a microcosm of this societal struggle, where Black and White patrons experienced vastly different recreational opportunities. From the establishment of segregated recreation centers to the incremental dismantling of discriminatory policies, the park bore witness to the turbulent journey toward integration and equality.

Despite the extensive growth and development of Washington, D.C.'s park system in the first half of the 20th century, not all residents had equal access to park facilities. The district’s public facilities, including federal parks, adhered to strict Jim Crow laws, including racial segregation, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This segregation was enforced through specific time allocations for each race or entirely separate accommodations.

Section C
Anacostia Park was originally split into multiple segregated sections. Section D, with its state-of-the-art “fun center”, field house, 9-hole golf course, 6 tennis courts, baseball diamond, 3 additional baseball fields, 3 football fields, and playground, was designated “White-only”. The Black area, section C, was a similar size, but sported only a fraction of Section D’s amenities, with tennis courts and a baseball field. Despite exhaustive plans by landscape architect Irwin Payne for recreational opportunities in Section C, most of the land there was claimed by government offices, leaving little for the public to enjoy. Although the “separate but equal” doctrine was in place in the United States, segregation policies and systemic practices ensured that true equality stayed out of reach for Black Americans. The Black facilities were often poorly maintained in contrast to the well-kept White ones.

 

Anacostia Park had segregated facilities for Black Americans. Baseball was a popular pastime at the facilities.

Anacostia Community Museum

Military Recreation at Anacostia Park
The District-wide policy of segregated recreation also extended to military facilities in the District. On September 21, 1941, the first army recreation camp for Black soldiers in the District opened in Section C. The new facility for Black soldiers at Anacostia Park was the first of several such camps aimed at providing a safe place for Black soldiers to find recreation along the river while on leave.

This camp had overnight lodging for Black soliders on leave and was equipped with softball diamonds, tennis courts, a golf course and indoor recreation facilities for 500 Black soldiers. For the two years that the Anacostia Leave Area remained open, it provided a safe and enjoyable haven for African American soldiers. In 1943 during World War II, the Secretary of Interior signed an agreement to let the US Navy establish the US Naval Receiving Station in Anacostia Park Section C and the recreation area for Black soliders was closed.

 

The Anacostia Pool and Recreation Center

NPS Photo

Langston Golf Course, a 9-hole course for African Americans was established in 1939 as the second golf course open to African Americans in the district. The course was not in good shape and some greens lacked grass. An open sewer ran along the 3rd and 5th fairways. It was expanded to 18 holes in 1955.

The Secretary of the Interior began integrating National Park Service recreation facilities in 1949. In late July of 1949, integration of the Anacostia Pool led to violent riots resulting in the pool’s temporary closure. Eventually, in 1954, segregation in public places was permanently banned after the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court case overturned the "seperate but equal" doctrine.

The difficulty of integrating public places like Anacostia Park and its facilities foreshadowed the fraught process of ending segregation across the country. It was clear that achieving integration in the United States would be a long and challenging journey.

Integrated since the 1950s, Anacostia Park is now a favorite park for DC residents where all can come and enjoy recreation along the river.