Segregation in Cameron Park
We touch on this very briefly in the podcast, but Cameron Park was racially segregated until the 1960s. In fact, black people were completely barred from using the park until that time. Here is an excerpt from a 103.3 KWBU FM interview from 2010 with Hans Christianson, a freelance writer from Austin. He recounts how black children were told to avoid the park, and the white flight that ensued after the park was integrated.
During the first half of the 20th century, Waco was a racially segregated city. How did this affect Cameron Park?
When Cameron Park was dedicated, it was said to be for “the pleasure of the people.” But in 1910, that really meant white people. African Americans were barred from the park for the next five decades. And like a lot of segregation at the time, it wasn’t always spoken allowed, it was just understood. Unfortunately, it was a time when young black children had to be warned by their parents to stay away, and older African Americans found other places to congregate.
One story to share involves a young African American boy and longtime Waco resident named Noah Jackson Jr. During an oral history interview, he spoke about how he ignored his parents' warning and would periodically ride his bike into the park. His adventures usually ended with him being told to leave by police officers or white park-goers.
On occasion, the mood turned violent. Jackson was riding his bike out of the park with his younger sister balancing on the handle bars. A car drove up behind the duo, and he was struck in the back with a blunt object causing the bike to crash. He never found out the identity of his assailants.
That is terrible and, unfortunately, not the only incident of racially motivated violence in this area. Did racial tensions in the park increase during the Civil Rights era?
The interesting thing was that the racial policies in the park began to switch in the 1960s. Whether it was the Civil Rights Movement, or the “white flight” to the suburbs of Waco, fewer whites were frequenting the park. After being denied access for more than 50 years, the African American community began to use the park almost exclusively by the 1960s. In the 1970s, the Hispanic community of Waco also started frequenting the park.
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