Pompey Park in Delray Beach was born out of segregation — a safe haven for Black residents who faced legal discrimination.
Today, it remains the heartbeat of the city’s historic Black community, and local leaders are investing millions to secure its future.
Pompey Park, an anchor of “The Set” — the city’s historic Black neighborhood — was was built decades ago when Black residents weren’t allowed at the city’s public beaches or pools, so they fought tooth and nail for a safe place of their own.
Now, the City of Delray Beach and the Community Redevelopment Agency are pouring roughly $59 million into a complete transformation.
The new footprint will feature a 54,000-square-foot recreation center, family pool, playground, and other amenities.
The groundbreaking ceremony will take place Sept. 10 at 5 p.m. at Pompey Park in Delray Beach.
While the facilities are being modernized, the goal is to keep alive the area’s deep civil rights history.
The park is named in honor of longtime educator and civil rights activist C. Spencer Pompey.
In 1942, alongside NAACP’s attorney Thurgood Marshall, Pompey won a federal class-action equal pay lawsuit against the Palm Beach County School Board over a $25-per-month difference in salaries of white and Black teachers. In 1950, he established one of the City’s first recreational programs for Black students — his legacy carries over into the center.
Pompey died in 2001.
