Colored Citizens’ League of Maryland Celebrates its 10th Annual JubileeBlack Americans negotiate and renegotiate access to Herring Run Park in segregated 20th-century Baltimore
In the Baltimore of 1900, access to recreational spaces was by no means guaranteed to Black Americans. Nonetheless, in that year, the Colored Citizens League of Maryland managed to celebrate the 10th anniversary of its annual outdoor gathering and barbecue in Herring Run Park.
According to an article published in the Baltimore Sun on August 10, 1900, roughly 4,000 people gathered in celebration of President William McKinley, elected to office in 1897. The group used the park to roast a steer, give speeches, and enjoy music provided by a band. Topics of discussion included the Black community’s endorsement of McKinley in seeking a second term for president as well as the state of race relations in Maryland.
The newspaper noted that the league represented "the ‘upper ten’ of Baltimore’s colored society and strict propriety was preserved” by those who attended. The reporter played to racist tropes in his depiction of two men tucking into the beef: “Supposen this wus possum, Jim” said one man to the other. Jim’s reply: “Oh, Lordy!”
How did Black Marylanders manage the feat of holding a large, legal event in the park? Segregation in 19th-century and early 20th-century Baltimore was fluid and often unstructured so Black Americans negotiated and renegotiated access to certain spaces. Black residents may have been allowed access up to a time, but this did not guarantee their access in the future. However, Baltimore’s racially restrictive zoning ordinances, implemented a decade later, would have prevented events like this from taking place in Baltimore parks. While Herring Run Park was not part of the city proper at the time (and thus not subject to the ordinance), such policies demonstrate how Black access to recreational spaces was curtailed.
Sources:
The Baltimore Sun Newspaper (Baltimore, Maryland) 10 Aug 1900, Fri page 7.“Negroes Have a Jubilee,” The Baltimore Sun, (August 10, 1900)
In the Baltimore of 1900, access to recreational spaces was by no means guaranteed to Black Americans. Nonetheless, in that year, the Colored Citizens League of Maryland managed to celebrate the 10th anniversary of its annual outdoor gathering and barbecue in Herring Run Park.
According to an article published in the Baltimore Sun on August 10, 1900, roughly 4,000 people gathered in celebration of President William McKinley, elected to office in 1897. The group used the park to roast a steer, give speeches, and enjoy music provided by a band. Topics of discussion included the Black community’s endorsement of McKinley in seeking a second term for president as well as the state of race relations in Maryland.
The newspaper noted that the league represented "the ‘upper ten’ of Baltimore’s colored society and strict propriety was preserved” by those who attended. The reporter played to racist tropes in his depiction of two men tucking into the beef: “Supposen this wus possum, Jim” said one man to the other. Jim’s reply: “Oh, Lordy!”
How did Black Marylanders manage the feat of holding a large, legal event in the park? Segregation in 19th-century and early 20th-century Baltimore was fluid and often unstructured so Black Americans negotiated and renegotiated access to certain spaces. Black residents may have been allowed access up to a time, but this did not guarantee their access in the future. However, Baltimore’s racially restrictive zoning ordinances, implemented a decade later, would have prevented events like this from taking place in Baltimore parks. While Herring Run Park was not part of the city proper at the time (and thus not subject to the ordinance), such policies demonstrate how Black access to recreational spaces was curtailed.
Sources:
The Baltimore Sun Newspaper (Baltimore, Maryland) 10 Aug 1900, Fri page 7.“Negroes Have a Jubilee,” The Baltimore Sun, (August 10, 1900)
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