Photo by Emily Capetillo

The city revealed a new playground at Anderson Bonner Park on Saturday.

Dallas City Council District 11 member Janie Schultz and Dr. Glynn Newman, Dallas Parks and Recreation Board District 11, were at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new installation. 

“The playground for Anderson Bonner Park has been in the works for several years,” said Schultz. “Former Park Board member, Jeff Kitner, did all of the work of meeting with the community, understanding the park needs and shepherding this through the funding,” she said.

Anderson Bonner Park is a 41-acre park in the city, and is named after Anderson Bonner (c. 1835 – c. 1920), a farmer and owner of extensive land holdings in North Dallas along White Rock Creek and Cottonwood Branch, both of which are of great significance to the history of Dallas. Bonner is a former slave who ultimately owned 2,000 acres of land in what is today North Dallas and Richardson. 

“It has been a very exciting tribute to the Bonner family and celebrating the Black history of North Dallas,” Schultz said.

The land where Medical City Dallas Hospital sits, located at Forest Lane and North Central Expressway, was originally part of Bonner’s estate.

There is the Sankofa public artwork that was created by Andrew F Scott, to honor Bonner’s life and legacy. Sankofa is a word rooted in the Twi language of Ghana that literally means “go back and get.”

The new playground is located at 12000 Central Drive.