COLLECTION NAME:
Graduate Thesis Collection
Record
Title:
A Long Road: How Jim Crow Affected the Design and Development of Recreational Areas along the Blue Ridge Parkway
Creator:
Heher, Stephanie
Subject:
Thesis (M.F.A.) -- Historic Preservation
Subject:
Savannah College of Art and Design -- Department of Preservation Design
Rights:
Copyright is retained by the authors or artists of items in this collection, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
Abstract:
"Policies and practices employed by the National Park Service (NPS) relating to the creation of segregated recreational facilities in its southern parks and sites during the Jim Crow and modern Civil Rights eras is a part of history that has not yet been thoroughly investigated and communicated to the general public. In a mandate to bring this history to light, the NPS has commissioned a few noteworthy studies in the past relating to these policies and practices as exercised at particular properties, yet additional research is warranted as to their effect at other southern parks and sites. This thesis specifically focused on the Blue Ridge Parkway (Parkway), a major roadway operated by the NPS that traverses through the states of Virginia and North Carolina. This investigation was conducted in three phases initially aimed on identifying NPS documentation that reveals policies and practices; next, evaluating how policies and practices affected the development, construction, and operation of the Parkway; and finally, through interviews, ascertaining what historical interpretations have traditionally been provided to visitors of the Parkway relating to these policies and practices. This thesis not only contributes to the existing body of knowledge on the topic, but also provides resources that could assist the NPS in its effort to transfer this information to the public realm via amendments to site management documents and supplements to site interpretation."
Abstract:
Keywords: National Park Service, Blue Ridge Parkway, segregation policies, segregation practices, Jim Crow, Civil Rights, recreational areas, site interpretation
Publisher:
Savannah, Georgia : Savannah College of Art and Design
Date:
2018-05
Format:
PDF : 190 pages, illustrations (some color), color maps, plans