Black Troops at Boxwell

From its beginnings in 1921, Boxwell was a segregated summer camp. Before Middle Tennessee Council issued its own non-discrimination statement in December 1964, African Americans scouts stayed at their own separate camps, which we’ve discussed before. To our knowledge, African American Scouts stayed at Camp Burton (various locations), Camp Tagatay (Ft. Campbell), and even at the Narrows of the Harpeth.

The first integrated summer at Boxwell Reservation was 1965. But even then, “integration” meant simply using the camp. Camp Parnell hosted a week of exclusively black troops at the end of the summer, which was effectively a segregated week. By 1967, an African American had joined the Parnell Staff. By 1968, full integration was finally achieved with black troops attending any week during the summer.

Seen here in 1970 is Joe Tomasso with several African American Scouts on the porch wall of Parnell Dining Hall. By this point, not only had Boxwell fully integrated, but so had many troops that attended summer camp.

Collection of Chris “Kit” Eckert