AUSTIN, Texas — The Lions Municipal Golf Course, also known as Muny, is celebrating its 100th anniversary as a national Civil Rights Landmark this year.
Muny was the first racially integrated golf course in the South, but rezoning efforts and potential new plans for the land leave the course's future in limbo.
On Thursday, Austin Black community leaders gathered with representatives from the NAACP to share the significance of the course and the impact it had on the Civil Rights Movement.
"Preserving historical sites that tell the story of our history is really important," NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson said. "And it's a history, not only of African Americans community, but it's a history of America, and we need to preserve as many sites as possible."
Last year, The Muny Conservancy hosted its Imagine Muny Gala to celebrate the course and raise funds to purchase the land from the University of Texas at Austin. The goal of the conservancy is to save all 141 acres of Lions Municipal Golf Course.
"The golf course is an opportunity for people to get together around the game that they love," Johnson said. "But the ability to socialize, it is a great equalizer, and this is an opportunity for Austin and the state of Texas to preserve this historical site."