The first National Park Week was observed in 1991 to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the National Park Service. National Park Week has been an annual celebration since 1994. The 2025 celebration will be held April 19 to April 26.

I have visited five of the 63 national parks – Gateway Arch, Redwood, Rocky Mountain, Sequoia and Yosemite. The NPS manages national monuments and memorials, and has limited jurisdiction over National Historic Landmarks. National Historic Landmarks in Philadelphia include Mother Bethel AME Church, the Church of the Advocate, the John Coltrane House, and the Johnson House.

This year’s theme of the National Park Playlist “celebrates musical connections to national parks and the American story.”

The Hotel Lorraine, where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, is included in the NPS African American Civil Rights Network. So my playlist includes Otis Spann’s “Hotel Lorraine.”

Rev. Richard Allen, founder of Mother Bethel AME Church, produced the first compilation of hymns for an African American congregation, “A Collection of Hymns and Spiritual Songs,” published in 1801. The hymns include “Am I a Soldier of the Cross?” I will play a 20th century version of the hymn.

Lee Morgan’s homegoing ceremony was held at the Church of the Advocate. Needless to say, “The Sidewinder” will be on repeat.

John Coltrane composed “Giant Steps” while living in the Strawberry Mansion rowhome that is now a National Historic Landmark.

The Johnson House was a stop on the Underground Railroad.