Druid Hill Park in Baltimore, Maryland — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Playing for Civil Rights
Druid Hill Park
| | Baltimore City Recreation & Parks | |
On July 11, 1948, members of the Young Progressives of Maryland and members of the Baltimore Tennis Club staged the nationally famous interracial tennis match to protest two sad injustices: the park's "Jim Crow" regulations, which prohibited mixed-race use of facilities, and the dismal conditions of the "Negro" courts at Druid Hill Park.
As soon as the match began police ordered the players to leave. When the players sat down in protest, they were removed in paddy wagons, called Black Mariahs, to the Northern District Police Headquarters.
In his last column for the Baltimore Sun, H.L. Mencken wrote a scathing article demanding that "such relics of Klu Kluxery be wiped out of Maryland."
Baltimore parks were desegregated in 1952.
[Captions:]
Site of the historic 1948 protest tennis match, the "white" courts, with the Conservatory in the background, are shown in these hand-colored postcard views from around 1907.
The "Negro" courts at Druid Hill Park were used by some of the greats in tennis, including Arthur Ashe and Althea Gibson. Above, a men's singles match on the clay courts at Druid Hill Park.
Erected by Baltimore City Recreation and Parks.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic
this page online
Location. 39° 19.11′ N, 76° 38.805′ W. Marker is in Baltimore, Maryland. It is in Druid Hill Park. It is on Beechwood Drive 0.1 miles east of Gwynns Falls Parkway, on the right when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 3100 Gwynns Falls Pkwy, Baltimore MD 21217, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Central Maryland. It is also in the American Mid-Atlantic and in the Chesapeake Bay Region. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once one of the original Thirteen Colonies and also the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Breaking the Back of Segregation (a few steps from this marker); Druid Hill Park (within shouting distance of this marker); A Memorial Rose Garden (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Ponds, Springs & Fountains (approx. 0.2 miles away); Wagner (approx. 0.2 miles away); The Mansion House (approx. Ό mile away); a different marker also named Druid Hill Park (approx. Ό mile away); William Wallace (approx. 0.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Baltimore.
Additional keywords. 🎾
Credits. This page was last revised on December 28, 2021. It was originally submitted on December 28, 2021, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 512 times since then and 32 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on December 28, 2021, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.
