Downtown Memphis park with deep historical ties steps into the future | News

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – A Downtown Memphis park with deep ties to history is stepping into the future.

On October 4, the National Civil Rights Museum (NCRM) cut the ribbon on a brand-new BlueCross Healthy Place at Founders Park, and with the ribbon cutting comes new life to Downtown Memphis.

Founders Park, steps away from the balcony where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spent his final moments, has been transformed into a BlueCross Healthy Place.

“This is a new and reimagined space that’s part of the museum complex,” said John Hawbaker, BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee Foundation. “It offers people a place where they can come and reflect or gather after they have visited the museum. It also helps connect the museum back with downtown in a new and richer way.”

The revitalized green space features zones for wellness, creativity, youth activities, and storytelling, all aimed at creating a sense of togetherness.

“It expands our footprint for the sacred ground that we’re on,” said Russ Wigginton, President of the NCRM. “It allows people to have an experience in the museum and then be in a community outside to reflect, to rejoice, to be rejuvenated.”

This is the third BlueCross Healthy Place in Memphis, part of an effort to build spaces where families can gather, move, and connect.

“We opened the program a few years ago at David Gordon Park in Whitehaven and, you know, we’ve seen over time what these spaces really mean to people,” Hawbacker said.

And for museum leaders, it’s about more than beautifying a park, it’s about strengthening community.

“When people are in community, good things happen, and this community deserves that,” Wiggington said.