Syndication News Column:
Frederick Douglass Park
The swimming pool at the Frederick Douglass Park in Indianapolis provides a refreshing escape from the Summer heat.
(Photograph was provided courtesy of Ms. Candice Graves, 2020.)
The recent death of Congressman John Lewis shined a light on a man who stood up – literally, stood up – for equality of all. He was threatened, beaten, and arrested. At the age of about 25 years, he almost died on a bridge in Alabama. He lived many more years. He was able to witness the expansion of voting rights to African Americans – and people of other races and ethnicities – through Federal governmental actions.
Frederick Douglass, the man whose name graces a public park in the Martindale-Brightwood neighborhood of Indianapolis, was a man who also stood up – literally, stood up – for equality of all. He fought for the abolition of slavery as well as for the equality of all men and women. He, too, was threatened and beaten. He, too, was threatened and beaten. He was born a slave, escaped, and fled the country to avoid re-capture and worse. What could be worse than slavery? Some runaway slaves that were recaptured and returned were tortured through amputations and blinding; others were killed. His freedom was eventually purchased by British citizens. At the age of about 25 years, he also almost died. Not on a bridge in Alabama, but in a small town in Indiana. A Quaker doctor – a Quaker doctor – stopped a blow from an iron bar that was aimed at the head of Mr. Douglass. He, too, lived many more years. He was able to witness the abolition of slavery, the extension of citizenship to African Americans, and the ability for Black men to vote, run for elective office, and serve our nation. Unfortunately, he also witnessed the efforts that destroyed many of those achievements. It would be years later that people like John Lewis and others saw many of those achievements become lasting reality through the Civil Rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s. Even today, though, there are those that are trying to suppress voting rights and continue to espouse hatred and violence.
In between the lives of those two men came the creation of the Frederick Douglass Park in Indianapolis.
It’s an oasis of green space, recreational facilities, and community activities for people living throughout the City of Indianapolis. A nine-hole golf course welcomes sports enthusiasts. According to the City, the golf course is a 2,933 yard, par 34 course that “features few water and sand hazards, well-trapped greens and mature trees that line several fairways.” Improvements at the golf course have been made through the years, with a new clubhouse in 1971, and major golf course improvements in 2001.
The park includes 43 acres of land between 25th and 30th Streets and between Dr. Andrew J. Brown Avenue and Ralston Avenue. One of the entrances to the park is at 1616 East 25th Street, with the golf course entrance at 2901 Dr. Andrew J. Brown Avenue.
The family of Edward Claypool, a local businessman who had owned the Claypool Hotel in Downtown Indianapolis, made the initial donation of the site for this park in 1921. The ground donated at that time was a cow pasture.
Mr. Frederick Douglass was born into slavery, ran away to freedom, and became a leading force for equality for Black people and women.
(The photograph was provided courtesy of the National Park Service.)
This park, named for a prominent American, has its heritage based on segregation. The location of the Frederick Douglass Park was not an accident. The neighborhood at that time was home to many of the Black residents of Indianapolis. Through the years, the Martindale-Brightwood neighborhood has continued to serve as a center of life for Black people of Indianapolis.
The early 20th century was a time when violence and the fear of violence was used against Black people who tried to use public parks in Indianapolis. A time when riots were directed by criminals against Black people simply because they were Black people. A time when “separate but equal” was not just used to justify segregated and unequal public schools, but when that legal philosophy was used to justify segregated and unequal public parks. This park was created so that the City of Indianapolis would have a public park – one and only one public park – where Black people could visit and use the facilities.
Prior to the creation of the Frederick Douglass Park, Black people could visit other public parks in the City of Indianapolis. In theory. Some Black residents, of course, did visit a variety of public parks and were able to enjoy the amenities provided by the tax dollars generated by people of all races and ethnicities in the City. The problem was that there were organized efforts through a number of years to keep Black residents out of the public parks. And, not surprising for the times, the local government did not always protect the Black people attempting to use the facilities in public parks in Indianapolis.
The Indianapolis Journal included a news article on August 26, 1901, that had “Negroes At Fairview Park Again Terrorized” as a subheadline. This news article reported that the “Bungaloo gang” attacked Negroes visiting the park, as the gang had done several weeks earlier. The newspaper reported that the gang’s slogan was “Clean the n*****s.” The members of the gang – all White persons – would first warn Negroes that they should leave the public park. If the individuals did not immediately leave or if the individuals showed independence and disobedience, the gang members would attack.
On the same date, The South Bend Daily Tribune reported on its front page that 150 members of the gang “began a determined effort to drive all the negroes out” of Fairview Park. Park officers, the newspaper reported, came to the aid of some of the Negroes being attacked.
These attacks continued through the years. In June of 1903, the Bungaloo gang engaged in “A Reign Of Terror At Riverside Park” according to The Indianapolis News in a news article dated June 8, 1903: “Many negroes were beaten and stoned.” On July 16, 1903, The Evening Times of Muncie reported that “The negroes have been attacked several times in the parks [of Indianapolis], but investigation by the police has showed that the negroes are as much or more to blame than the whites.”
On July 16, 1906, The Indianapolis News reported that attacks on Negroes were continuing in Riverside Park. The newspaper reported that “The trouble started about 6 o’clock [the night before] when a young ruffian shouted: ‘Let’s kill a n****r.’”
Some of the attackers were arrested. Some of those attacked were protected by law enforcement. But these events were part of the “traditions” that implemented segregation and controlled the activities of Black people in Indianapolis at the turn of the last century.
Segregated parks were part of the landscape of Indiana at this time. A front page headline in the edition of The Muncie Evening Press on July 16, 1923, stated that “Segregation Of Races In Parks Is Held Lawful.” The news article explained that the judge ruling in this case noted that “The right of the state to establish separate public schools for the white and colored races is no longer in question.”
Frederick Douglass Park became a recreational mecca for Black people in Indianapolis as well as throughout Central Indiana. On August 6, 1924, The Indianapolis Star reported that “The Douglass park demonstration for colored children will take place at the swimming pool at 2:45 pm.” A news article in the “Colored Notes” section of The Muncie Evening Press, on August 11, 1934, detailed that “The True Friendship Society held a picnic at Douglass Park in Indianapolis.”
The superintendent of the Indianapolis Parks Department noted “the virtues of Douglass Park the exclusive Jim Crow Park,” as reported by The Indianapolis Recorder in a news article dated July 24, 1926. “He said the city had spent great sums of money in preparing Douglass Park for the colored people.” He went further by indicating that “they [Black people in Indianapolis] should not desire to go to any other park, as Douglass Park was very nice and prepared especially for Negroes.”
The golf course at Frederick Douglass Park began with “the placing of six tomato cans around the [cow] pasture and calling it a golf course,” according to a news article dated April 7, 1928, in The Indianapolis Recorder. The news article indicated that as of that date, 4 actual golf greens had been completed and five more greens were being created.
Things didn’t change for decades – not just in Indianapolis, but throughout the United States. Few discuss it today, but according to the United States Golf Association (USGA), “The Professional Golfers Association [PGA] had an article in its by-laws stating that it was ‘for members of the Caucasian race.’” The regulation was removed in 1961.
The land donated for the Frederick Douglass Park had already been subdivided into more than 100 potential
homesites in two planned housing developments. According to this map, less than 10 homes had been built in one
section of the farmland. These homes can be seen in the upper left of this map.
(This map was produced by G. W. Baist and provided courtesy of the Library of Congress, 1916.)
This map details the location of the Frederick Douglass Park in the Martindale-Brightwood neighborhood of Indianapolis.
A number of homes are within a short distance of this park.
(The map was provided courtesy of the City of Indianapolis, 2011.)
Today, people of any race, any ethnicity can visit and partake in activities at any public park in Indianapolis. People of any race, any ethnicity can visit and partake in activities at Frederick Douglass Park.
When the park was first created – created as a segregated park – the park’s name was chosen by local folks to highlight one of the heroes of the United States. Not necessarily a hero to the larger community, but certainly a hero to Black residents throughout Indianapolis. The name was a not-too-subtle statement to the larger community that African Americans still aimed for equality for all.
“Frederick Douglass was born into slavery on a plantation on the Eastern Shore of Maryland in 1818,” according to a statement from the United States Mint. “By fifteen, he was a literate, independent teenager who educated other slaves. In 1838, he disguised himself as a sailor and boarded a train to New York City, where he declared himself a free man.”
“Douglass turned his efforts to helping those still enslaved,” the statement continued. “An impressive orator, he traveled across the North speaking against slavery…In danger of being returned to slavery…he fled to the British Isles where he continued to speak against slavery and ultimately, British supporters purchased his freedom. Douglass returned to the United States, and during the Civil War, recruited African Americans to fight in the Union Army. He continued to write and speak against slavery. He met with Abraham Lincoln to advocate for African American troops and encouraged [President] Lincoln to see the war as a chance to transform the country.”
Frederick Douglass visited Indiana on several occasions to speak in favor of the abolition of slavery and the extension of equality. In 1843, according to the Library of Congress, “At an antislavery meeting in Pendleton, Indiana, he [was] beaten by a mob. His right hand is broken in the scuffle and he never fully [recovered] the use of his hand.”
Further details were printed in a news article in The Indianapolis Star on February 28, 1926. This news article indicated that “…He was attacked by a mob, beaten into unconsciousness and would have been killed had he not been rescued by a group of Quakers…When the Negro fell unconscious a burly ruffian raised a bar of iron to strike him, but Dr. [M. G.] Walker threw his weight against the fellow and bowled him over, thus averting the blow.” Mr. Douglass was about 25 years of age at the time of the attack, according to the newspaper.
Frederick Douglass had the capacity to extend respect to the man who had enslaved him.
The Indiana State Sentinel on September 27, 1849, reported that Frederick Douglass had sent a letter to his former master, Captain Thomas Auld. According to the newspaper article, Mr. Douglass reported that Captain Auld had “emancipated all his slaves except the grandmother of Mr. D. [Frederick Douglass] who is too old to sustain herself in freedom. Capt. A. [Captain Auld] has taken her from the desolate hut where she formerly lived, into his own kitchen, and is now providing for her in a manner becoming a man and a christian. Mr. D. addressed his former master in a spirit of gratitude and respect.”
In 1895, Frederick Douglass was called home. The news of his death was detailed on the front page of The Indianapolis Journal on February 21, 1895. Not just in one news article, but in several news articles. One of these news articles included the headline that his “Father a White Master and His Mother a Slave.” This news article indicated that like many children born as a slave, he was separated from his mother and rarely saw her: “…He never saw but a few times in his early life.”
When you visit Frederick Douglass Park, remember the main quote of Frederick Douglass, the man, highlighted currently on the website of the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site in the District of Columbia:
“I would unite with anybody to do right and with nobody to do wrong.”
The Frederick Douglass Park in Indianapolis includes a variety of playground equipment and picnic areas.
(Photograph was provided courtesy of Ms. Candice Graves, 2020.)
© 2020 Richard McDonough