H.K. Matthews Park
American. Ben Twingley. “H.K. Matthews.” Pensacola News Journal, 2007. Accessed November 4, 2014.
Jason Hartman. “Event honors the past, looks to the future.” Pensacola News Journal, February 19, 2007. Accessed November 4, 2014.
Matthews, H.K. Victory After the Fall. Pensacola, Florida (2007)
Troy Moon. “A Pioneer for Change.” Pensacola News Journal, August 16, 2014. Accessed November 4, 2014.
Unpublished Interview: Neuner, Carole. Interview by Stephen Chase Oswald. Oral History Interview. 1914 East Avery St. Pensacola, FL 32503. November 13, 2014
This recreational area is located in Pensacola, Florida on the corner of North 12th Avenue and East Hayes Street. The park is next to Holy Cross Cemetery along East Hayes. St. Christopher's Episcopal Church along 12th Avenue is also parallel to the park.
The park was formerly known as Esperanzada Square beginning in the first decade of the 1900s. This plot of land was later renamed after a local Civil Rights activist in Pensacola, Reverend Hawthorne Konrad “H. K.” Matthews, in February 2006. Rev. Matthews, an African American, was involved in the Civil Rights Movement led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during the 1960s. Rev. Matthews participated in the march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama on March 25, 1965.
Due to this Civil Rights demonstration being nationally televised, racism and police brutality in the southern United States caused American citizens to call upon the federal government to become involved. Rev. Matthews was leader in the Pensacola chapters of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). His local actions for gaining civil rights in Pensacola include organized protests of the Rebel mascot at Escambia High School as well as sit-ins to integrate lunch counters and other establishments in the city’s downtown district along Palafox Street.
The park’s location parallels the predominantly African American racial demographic within this region of the East Hill neighborhood. The landscape and design of this park contains pine trees and shrubbery. A basketball court with multiple goals, playground equipment, and a gazebo are encompassed within the park.
In the past and currently in the present, H.K. Matthews Park continues to serve the residents of East Hill and Pensacola by accommodating the various activities and personal lifestyles through a beautifully maintained recreational area.