The Beginnings

• Planning group formed in 2002 by the Paul Green Foundation to explore the absence of public monuments in North Carolina commemorating African Americans
• Incorporated in 2004 as a IRS 501(c)(3) charitable corporation for the purpose of creating a process to determine purpose, place and financing of a monument honoring the African American experience
• Board of Directors with 35 members from all areas of the state and an Advisory Board named by Chairman John Hope Franklin

The Design of the Park

• Preliminary design concept adopted in 2008 with theme of looking back on slavery, Jim Crow, and the struggle for freedom
• Preliminary design withdrawn in 2015 after a Focus Group recommended a more uplifting theme reflecting changes in race relations during the past 50 years
• Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation grant in 2016 to reorganize the project with smaller working Board of Directors and adopting innovative new design for the Park
• Renowned architect Phil Freelon of Perkins+Will chosen to design a park to be “a testament of Truth about our past and a beacon of Optimism about our future”
• Freelon design to feature dramatic central beacon structure and to include areas to reflect and to gather for educational and cultural events, especially for schoolkids

The Site of the Park

• The Park to be constructed on a central one-acre site in the Capital City of Raleigh, between the State Legislature and the Governor’s Mansion, on State property
• After construction by the Park’s non-profit corporation, the Park to be gifted to the State, likely the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources for maintenance
• Council of State granted a gratuitous 10- year lease of this prime property (est. value approximately $6.0 million) for constructing the Park with a timeline for raising the construction funds by the end of 2017 and completion of the Park by 2020

Financing the Park

• Fundraising Goal of $4 Million to complete the design and construction of the Park and it's inspiring centerpiece The Beacon of Freedom. Capitol fundraising campaign from 2017 to 2020 raised $3.3 million (including a State Grant of $1.5 million). The public "Light the Beacon" Campaign kicked off at the October 7, 2020 groundbreaking with a gift of $100,000 from Duke Energy. Please help us to "Light the Beacon" and make a donation to the NCFP today!

• Capital Campaign Summary: Over $2million has been gifted to the project by over two dozen major North Carolina corporations, foundations, banks and credit unions, and civic minded individuals. That show of concern was noticed by the NC General Assembly which granted $1.5 million in June to the project to allow construction to commence in the next few months.