PRESENTATION
Historical context and founding of Frederick Douglass Memorial Park
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The Frederick Douglass Memorial Park was founded by Rodney Dade, a Harlem funeral director, to provide a non-discriminatory cemetery for African Americans. Dade collaborated with other professionals to realize this vision.
- Founded in response to inequities faced by African Americans in other cemeteries
- Key figures involved: Benjamin Diamond, Frederick A. Bahn, and Adam Clayton Powell Sr.
- First board of directors included prominent Harlem citizens, funeral directors, and ministers
Timothy Frye
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The Frederick Douglass Memorial Park was founded by Rodney Dade, a Harlem funeral director, who wanted an alternative to the inequities African Americans experienced at many cemeteries where visiting families in funeral possessions were often relegated to the side gates and the deceased were buried in the least desirable plots.
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He wanted a cemetery for African Americans offering the same services and facilities to everyone.
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He enlisted the support of professionals who shared this vision.
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He partnered with Benjamin Diamond, a successful businessman and Frederick A.
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Bahn, an attorney with with the nearby Ocean View Cemetery.
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And the first board of directors included prominent Harlem citizens, federal fellow funeral directors and ministers, including the highly influential Adam Clayton Powell senior, pastor of the well known Abasini Invaptist Church.
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