Morningside Park is a city park in Knoxville, Tennessee, that features a large open area and a playground just like countless other parks across the nation and world. What makes it distinct is the 13 feet high bronze statue of author and Pulitzer prize winner Alex Haley that has defined Haley Heritage Square. The statue and square are incredible examples of what it means to fulfill a vision of making a park and greenspace something much more.
Defining Cultural Diversity, Integrity, and Good-will for all Humanity
Alex Haley is the author of the 1976 book Roots: The Saga of an American Family. Haley was born in Tennessee and lived his final years near Knoxville, which made him an ideal person to further define Morningside Park for the community.
Morningside Park contains an 18-hole disc golf course and other open spaces, but Haley Heritage Square has attracted a whole new audience. Play structures, a paved loop, a water fountain, wide-open green spaces and numerous benches define the top section of the park, but Haley Heritage Square has provided it with an identity that is utilized to attract visitors from across Knoxville and beyond.
Dedicated in February 1998 during Black History Month, Haley Heritage Square was designed to be a permanent tribute to cultural diversity, integrity, and good-will for all humanity. Created by sculptor Tina Allen, the piece depicts Haley in a seated position with a copy of Roots in his left hand while his right hand is open and inviting to the audience. Weighing over 4,000 lbs, for many years it was recognized as the largest statue of an African-American in the world.
The original vision for Haley Heritage Square included a visitor center where people could learn more about Haley along with the history and culture of the region. Literacy classes, writing workshops, documentaries and scholarships are just a few of the program that could be made available at the visitor center. While this vision has not been fulfilled, the opportunities that Haley Heritage Square have opened up for the park and all of Knoxville highlight how monuments can create and define a vision for a space in the present and future.
Cultivating Community and Activity
Numerous parks and green spaces across the world utilize monuments in an imaginative manner or to define a vision, but the way that Haley Heritage Square has been able to further characterize Morningside Park showcases how doing both can be accomplished in a relatively simple manner. The sculpture of Alex Haley highlights what it can look like for a monument to energize a space in a way that cultivates community and activity in the present that can be built on in countless ways in the future.
