Anacostia Park in Southeast Washington in Washington, District of Columbia — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Summer in the Parks
Anacostia Park
| | National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior | |
Summer of 1968: in the wake of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Americans struggled with fear, rage, and division. Riots in Washington, D.C. and killed 13 people.
As a step toward healing, the National Park Service (NPS), the District of Columbia, and local communities implemented Summer in the Parks: a series of public music, art, and outdoor gatherings in parks throughout the city. Anacostia Park saw some of the biggest activity, with concerts featuring performers such as Solomon Burke, founding father of soul music, and Experience Unlimited Band, who debuted GO-GO, a brand-new music genre. Other activities included fishing programs, a bookmobile, and sporting events such as roller skating.
By working with community organizations in planning and hiring locally, the NPS aimed to remove feelings of exclusion and discrimination in outdoor recreation spaces. Although the program formally ended in 1976, its legacy lives on at the Anacostia Skating Pavilion, Fort Dupont Summer Concert Series, Hispanic Heritage Festival, and Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts.
"I heard Summer in theParks advertised on the radio by Petey Greene, we came to Anacostia on our bikes. It was 1968 it was a peace of mind at the rec center. Anacostia Park has been good to a lot of people."
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Herbert Files, local resident
"To me, Summer in the Park[s] was a birthplace of a lot of Go-Go history because that's where you got the most exposure When you [are] performing and you see a crowd bobbing their head or clapping or dancing or whatever, that's like a high you can't buy."
Gregory "Sugar Bear" Elliott
[Caption:]
The Laughing Tree was the logo for the Summer in the Parks program.
Erected by National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Arts, Letters, Music • Entertainment • Parks & Recreational Areas. A significant historical year for this entry is 1968.
Location. 38° 52.772′ N, 76° 58.189′ W. Marker is in Southeast Washington in Washington, District of Columbia. It is in Anacostia Park. It is on Anacostia Drive Southeast half a mile north of Nicholson Street Southeast, on the right when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this
Regionally, this marker is in the Washington Metropolitan Area. It is also in the American Northeast, in the Upper South, in the Mid-Atlantic, in the Tidewater, and in the Chesapeake Bay Region. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Anacostia Skating Pavilion (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); The Anacostia River Floodplain (about 300 feet away); The Life of a River (about 300 feet away); a different marker also named Anacostia Skating Pavilion (about 700 feet away); Unity in the Community (approx. 0.2 miles away); An Upstream Battle (approx. Ό mile away); Seafarers Yacht Club (approx. Ό mile away); Fourth Street M.E. Church Memorial (approx. 0.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Southeast Washington.
Credits. This page was last revised on April 20, 2026. It was originally submitted on April 20, 2026, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 9 times since then. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on April 20, 2026, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.
