Faye Reese, 7, enjoys a swing at Emancipation Park in Houston on Monday, May 31, 2021.

An Emancipation Park sign seen on Tuesday, June 8, 2021, in Third Ward, Houston.

A young girl enjoys the playground at Emancipation Park in Houston on Friday, May 28, 2021.

Emancipation Park, for all of its history and pride, isn't where families go to play, picnic or simply enjoy sitting under the trees. But it should be.

The Third Ward landmark, which is Houston's oldest park and was founded by formerly enslaved men to celebrate Juneteenth, is about to get a major upgrade with a $18.5 million investment from the Kinder Foundation. Plans call for a new outdoor performance stage and a renovated cultural center with a gift shop. Construction is racing to completion in time for the park’s Juneteenth celebrations in 2026.

This comes less than a decade after the park's nearly $34 million redesign in 2017, supported by public and private donations, including the Kinder Foundation and Houston Endowment. The mission was to restore the park as a showcase in the historically Black community.

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The park has yet to live up to that promise.

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