“Houston’s Emancipation Park: A Story of Design and Civic Engagement” tells the story of Gabrielle Bullock and Kenneth Luker who partnered with the City of Houston, including Mayor Sylvester Turner, to transform a neighborhood park in the city’s Third Ward in honor of the community and the park’s founders.
Emancipation Park—the oldest park in Houston and Texas—was founded by four formerly enslaved people who came together on Juneteenth in 1872 and decided that they wanted a place to call their own. At time during the Jim Crow period, it was the only park open to Black Americans.
“This was more than just open space, and it’s more than just sports and recreation. This is a park that tells a story,” Design Principal Kenneth Luker, FAIA, said of the park.
