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Jim Crow in Savannah's Parks in the 20th Century presented by Jeffrey M. Ofgang: Struggle Over Dixon Park

The Struggle Over Dixon Park

Dixon Park was located on the “border” between Black and white neighborhoods at the intersection of East Broad and Henry streets. In the early 1900s, the park was a constant source of racial tensions sparked by white homeowners on one side of the park, on Duffy Street. The city considered this a "Black" park to the dismay of some white neighbors. The Mayor's 1917 annual report noted that the city "placed a Christmas tree in this park for the use of the Colored Christmas Tree Festival Association."

In 1921, Black neighbors filed a petition with the City Council asking that the park be formally designated a Black playground for youth. The petitioners complained that police officers harassed Black children using the park "due to the frequent complaint by some person to the police department." The petition noted that the park was nearly surrounded by Black residents.

The petitioners submitted this map showing the playground at the far end of the park from white homeowners:

Hand-drawn diagram of Dixon Park showing proximity of Whites and Blacks

The City Council accepted the petition "as information" without taking action.

In 1925, white residents threatened to leave the neighborhood if Dixon Park was designated as a Black playground. Their petition to the City Council claimed that "the establishment of a playground in the immediate neighborhood will depreciate the value of our homes."

An accompanying letter from a real estate company said "the conduct of negros in this park at the present time is a source of much annoyance," and it would not look kindly on "a play-ground for the entertainment and pleasure of no less than several hundred negros daily in the front of our homes."

Dixon Park was not designated as a Black playground but remained so, de facto.

In 1930, citizens, presumably white, petitioned the City Council to bar Dixon Park for athletic use "either white or colored."

In 1933, a petition complained of "noise made by negroes. . .very unpleasant and annoying to the white people in the neighborhood." In response, the city parks superintendent "informed the Negroes" that no one over 12 could play in Dixon Park.

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