BALTIMORE – The Frederick Douglass-Isaac Myers Maritime Park on the city ’ s southeastern waterfront pays tribute to African-Americans who contributed to the development of the city ’ s maritime industry.
The five-acre park and museum is named after two influential African-Americans, Frederick Douglass, a writer, orator and abolitionist, and Isaac Myers, a outstanding residential district and clientele leader. Both worked in the shipyards in the historic Fells Point neighborhood of Baltimore, where the park is located.
“ The intent [ of establishing the park and museum ] was to celebrate the Chesapeake Marine Railway and Dry Dock Company, the first black shipyard [ in the U.S ], ” said Marsha Reeves Jews, the park ’ s early curator and director.
The Chesapeake Marine Railway and Dry Dock Company was founded in 1866 by Myers and 14 other African-Americans. According to a park exhibit, the company “ was a successful enterprise that flourished in Baltimore for 18 years. ”
The museum includes a display of a mast, similar to those made by the Chesapeake Marine Railway and Dry Dock Company, and a supply shed that contains reproductions of the tools used by the company to build and repair boats.
Another highlight of the museum is the exhibits on the life of Douglass and Myers. This area includes a timeline of bondage in the U.S. and objects owned by Douglass ’ family members.
The park features scenic views of the Chesapeake Bay and a six foot grandiloquent bronze sculpt of Douglass by Marc Andre Robinson, a Maryland Institute College of Art graduate.
The Frederick Douglass-Isaac Myers Maritime Park is located on 1417 Thames Street in Baltimore, MD. 21231. The site opened in 2006 by the Living Classroom Foundation, a non-profit organization. For more data about the park, call 410-685-0295 .
About Frederick Douglass
Douglass was born into slavery at the Holme Hill Farm near Easton, in Talbot County, Maryland in 1818. At the time of his parentage, he was given the name Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey. His mother, Harriet Bailey, was a slave whose kin had lived on the Eastern Shore for generations. The identity of his father is not known.
In 1826, he was sent to Baltimore to live with the Auld family. He was initially teach the alphabet by his slave overlord ’ mho wife, Sophia Auld. Her husband, Hugh Auld, did not approve of the lessons, sol Douglass taught himself how to read in mystery .
“ He learned to read in the attic by candlelight, ” Jews said.
In 1838 Douglass escaped bondage, by prepare, to New York City, and married Anna Murray, a dislodge black woman from Maryland. The couple relocated in New Bedford, Massachusetts, where they took the surname “ Douglass. ”
In 1839, Douglass became a pay lector for the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society. In 1847, he settled in Rochester, New York, and began publishing an abolitionist newspaper called “ North Star, ” which was renamed the “ Frederick Douglass ’ Paper ” after 1851. He besides served as an adviser to President Abraham Lincoln from 1861 to 1865.
In addition to being a outstanding abolitionist, Douglass besides supported woman ’ second right to vote. In 1848, he gave the keynote speech at Seneca Falls Convention, the first base convention on women ’ south rights.
About Isaac Myers
Isaac Myers was a skilled transport caulker, community leader, and owner of several Baltimore-area businesses.
According to the book “ african american Leaders of Maryland : A Portrait Gallery ” by Suzanne E. Chapelle and Glenn O. Phillips, during the 1860s, white pier workers sought to eliminate African-Americans working in the caulk deal. Myers decided to form a union in holy order to purchase a shipyard and railway that African-Americans could operate hand in glove, which late became the Chesapeake Marine Railway and Dry Dock Company.
“ The Chesapeake Marine Railway and Dry Dock Company employed more than 300 african american english workers at an median wage of $ 3 per day, an excellent engage for the times. ”
Myers was besides elected president of the National Labor Union representing African- american unions across the country, and in 1882, he became the editor of the “ Colored Citizen ” a weekly paper in Baltimore. In 1888, he was elected repository of the Republican Party in Maryland.
Sources : hypertext transfer protocol : //www.nps.gov/museum/exhibits/frdo/index.html ; hypertext transfer protocol : //www.blackpast.org ; hypertext transfer protocol : //en.wikipedia.org ; “ african american Leaders of Maryland : A Portrait Gallery ” by Suzanne E. Chapelle and Glenn O. Phillips .
By Rachel Ponder, APG News
