What’s In A Name, Indy?
Frederick Douglass Park

August 17, 2020

The swimming pool at the Frederick Douglass Park provides a refreshing escape from the Summer heat.
(Photograph was provided courtesy of Ms. Candice Graves, 2020.)

Frederick Douglass, the man whose name graces a public park in the Martindale-Brightwood neighborhood of Indianapolis, was a man who fought for the abolition of slavery as well as for the equality of all men and women. He was threatened and beaten. He was born a slave, escaped, and fled the country to avoid re-capture, which could have led to torture, being maimed, or killed. His freedom was eventually purchased by British citizens. At the age of about 25 years, he almost died in a small town in Indiana. A Quaker doctor stopped a blow from an iron bar that was aimed at the head of Mr. Douglass. He lived many more years until his death in 1895. 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. I t would be years later that others saw many of those ideals achieved 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.

The Frederick Douglass Park is 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. 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.

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 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.

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.”

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.)

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Contact Richard McDonough at whatsinanameindy@usa.com.

© 2020 Richard McDonough