Remembering Paradise Park: Tourism and Segregation at Silver Springs

Excellent story and thankful for Lu and her co-author Cynthia Graham for taking on this wonderful endeavor of Paradise Park. Though many in the book has passed on... their lives and legacy came to life in this book. I'm especially thankful and grateful for the thumb nail sketch of one of my early role models...James "Uncle Son" Glover who taught me to respect all snakes as having a place in this world.

Very interesting history book about paradise park in Ocala, FL.

This book was about my hometown and experiences as a child. I recognized many of the names and families in the book and i read it in one sitting

Met one of the authors. Loved the book. Very informative

Amazing history and photography.

"Remembering Paradise Park" is a love song to the courage and resilience of descendants of Middle Passage survivors who came to occupy Marion County, perhaps the most racist county in the state of Florida ,and yet managed to create their own brief paradise during the waning years of Jim Crow. . Although blacks in Marion County lived adjacent to the largest artesian springs in the world, they were not allowed easy access until Harry Truman issued desegregation orders in 1948. This compelled owners of the world renowned Silver Springs attraction to defer to black captains of their glass bottomed boats who wanted their families to enjoy the then crystalline waters by reserving an area downstream exclusively for "colored people only" which for twenty years was known as "Paradise Park.".As many as a hundred thousand black people throughout the country visited this segregated oasis each year until desegregation and assimilation led ABC, its corporate owner from 1962 to 1969, to abruptly close the park as Disney's fantasies forced other tourist attractions into decline.Author/photographer Cynthia Wilson-Graham, and prize -winning author Lu Vickers joined forces to reveal the untold history of segregated tourism during which blacks whose forebears crossed the Atlantic in chains had to fight for the privilege of dipping their toes in beaches up and down the entire east coast. Despite the sound and fury of civil rights injustices which continue nationwide, and the fact that the Confederate flag still flies on official Marion County property, local families have not only prevailed but have prospered and brought honor to their families and community.This book significantly expands the untold history of racism in America. It should be read by anyone who works for peace and justice as well as all recent residents, both black and white, who now call Marion County home.The reviewer purchased this book from Ms. Wilson-Graham at a Black History event in Ocala February 26, 2016.Delphine Blachowicz Herbert

Lu Vickers has written another compelling, voice-driven book.. After reading her books about Weeki Wachee and Cypress Gardens, I was looking forward to her new book Remembering Paradise Park, a history of a segregated attraction. Vickers gives a comprehensive look at segregation and tourism, not only in Florida, but in our nation.. Giving witness to the voices of those who lived through this period, Vickers emphasizes their oral histories..Vickers' work brings the park's life to a new generation, giving insight to both the personal and social histories of the time. I appreciate how she describes what the closing of Paradise Park meant to the people who went there--it was one of a few, safe places African Americans could visit in Florida, and it was never re-opened on the heels of desegregation. .The book also includes research on the systematic destruction of black schools and businesses during this era---a seldom discussed consequence of desegregation. To this end, she mentions preservation pioneers like Enid Pinkney who helped recreate Hampton House Inn in Miami.This is an inspiring, historical book and a must read! I highly recommend it!

A great read for anyone who has visited Silver Springs and has an interest in recent social history