Sealevel Systems donated $250,000 to sponsor the pedestrian access trail in Unity Park and name it to honor the legacy of E.B. Holloway. Holloway was a turn-of-the-20th-century Black community leader who advocated for education, literacy, economic opportunity and public parks.
Holloway Trail will connect the Southernside neighborhood to Unity Park, creating a walking path on Nassau Street between Meadow and Welborn streets. The trail will be closed to vehicular traffic, creating a safe entry into the park for pedestrians and cyclists. It will also include a structure with wind chimes and interpretive panels, providing park visitors the opportunity to learn about the history of the park and the people who envisioned it.
Sealevel Systems chose to honor Holloway to foster his legacy of strengthening, engaging and encouraging his neighbors.
“We are proud to play a role in providing this incredible park to the community and helping share the story of E.B. Holloway,” said Susan O’Hanlan, president of Sealevel Systems. “His legacy of standing up for his community and lifting those around him is inspiring, and we couldn’t be more honored to have our name associated with his.”
Holloway lived from 1867 to 1949. He attended Methodist Clark University in Atlanta and returned to Greenville to teach in public schools before becoming Greenville’s first African American mail carrier. Mayberry Park was once the only park in the city where Black children were allowed to play during segregation. When the city had taken a large portion of the park in 1938 in order to build a minor league baseball stadium for white spectators, Holloway stood before City Council to advocate for a park where all children could play.
In a letter to the editor of the Greenville Piedmont newspaper in 1939, Holloway advocated for a public park his community’s families could enjoy. “We want the park because we need it. We want the park because our social and recreational life is at stake. Please give us a park.”
Learn more about the park at UnityParkGreenville.com.
Written by the City of Greenville.