Saving Washington Park

"" was a long time Republican committeeman of the 6th Ward and a delegate to the Republican National Convention. In 1940 he organized a rally in St. Louis with special guest and heavyweight champion, Joe Lewis. He then became a constable in the court of Justice of the Peace Robert Walker. At the time, he lived at 4475 West Belle Place. Mr. Morant married the beautiful Maggie Sawyer and they had two children. They lived around the corner from St. Paul... African Methodist Episcopal Church. In 1935, Mr. Morant filed charges in the Circuit Court against Bishop Joseph Gomez for alienating the affections of his wife. He accused the minister of having had improper relations with his wife the year before in Chicago. He sought $50,000 in damages. The Argus reported that he had divorced Maggie in 1935, but they remarried right before filing charges. The charges were eventually dropped or thrown out. In 1943, he was shot by one of his employees at the Linwood Recreation Center he operated in Richland, Mo. The rec center, about a mile from the main gate of Fort Leonard Wood, catered to black soldiers. William Swanson, the manager of the rec center, was charged with assault to kill. Morant's chauffer was also charged. Swanson told police that Morant had come there with his chaffeur, and "trigger man", to kill him. The chaffeur said when he arrived Swanson took his revolver and hit him in the head with it. He then shot Morant twice, in the arm and right hip, while he was sitting on the porch. Morant also fell and fractured his knee and was taken to St. Mary's Infirmary in St. Louis (1536 Papin). In 1944, he was elected delegate-at-large after defeating publisher Nathaniel Sweets who had the large endorsement of ministers and progressives. In 1946, Mr. Morant was regarded as one of the wealthiest African Americans in St. Louis. He won six terms as 6th Ward Republican Committeeman, and worked with the first AA Alderman Jasper Caston (also at WPC). He was a constable for 30 years before he was defeated in 1950. From 1950, he operated as a real estate agent from his home at 4752 Lewis Place. When he died in 1961, his estate was valued at $138,298.

POISON IVY In addition to overgrowth and weeds, some areas of the cemetery have poison ivy growing. Many people are able to identify poison ivy by its THR...EE leaves and LONG middle stem. But we have learned that you can also look at the leaves! If they are shaped like mittens, don't touch it! You will notice one edge of the leaf is smooth and the other is not. But the best way to avoid it is to ALWAYS wear your gloves and thin long sleeves, if you can!

The Coleman family had fun exploring at the cemetery. Jiles thinks they may have family buried here. His ancestors were sharecroppers in Berkeley, but they are just beginning their genealogical journey. It was also a powerful educational opportunity for us, in understanding how to best explain the significance of Washington Park and these St. Louisans to even the youngest visitors. Luckily, as children the first thing we all must quickly learn is civil rights and fairness. S...ometimes, they may even understand it better than us! We are sure that the purchaser of this stone would be so delighted to know that it was being by caressed the delicate touch of this baby's hand. #GuardianAngels #Sankofa #Ancestry #Heritage #Culture #OurStLouisHistory #BlackHistory #YouthEducation #PastPresentFuture #Preservation #Restoration #Reclamation #Community

Looking for something to do today? Come see the AMAZING 12 FT tall cattails that have completely overtaken two sections of the cemetery in the parcels owned by DDI Media! (Yes...there are burials/headstones in there)... (Yes....they will most likely cut this with a brush hog causing further damage.)

Our Hero https://www.facebook.com/100803861640876/posts/251501673237760/?sfnsn=mo

In celebration of , we will be giving 2 tours @1pm and 3pm of Washington Park Cemetery to share the important history and legacies of those who lived through this time. (The Clean Up Day hosted by the Young descendants has been postponed due to a family emergency. If you are still interested in helping with restoration, we recommend clearing around headstones that are overcome by weeds in the already maintained sections. This work must be done by hand...and loppers!) We hope to see you tomorrow in honor of these amazing St. Louisans to learn all that you can about their contributions to our city.

:( The ancestry resting at Ws P C doesn’t need pity or a bare minimum campaign. It needs more than half-*hearted fundraising (or signage). It needs dignity, respect and a moral citenzry. It requires long term committment and an Endowment for care. Those buried here groundbreakers, leaders, fighters, hard workers, etc. deserve so much more than a handwritten sign and a few coins. They deserve a Restoration Plan and a city who doesn’t continue to overlook (...or fly over) them. They deserve the same loyalty they gave to the St. Louis community. And their descendants deserve a place where they can safely visit and reconnect with them. To think that a community cannot figure out how to NOT disrespect their burial grounds is absurd. Especially when a Preservation Plan has been set forth, funding can be made available, and we have youth and descendants ready to learn how. (And especially, when the golf course around the corner just received millions.) This is a beautiful opportunity to heal trauma in a city where people have been persecuted (and exploited) even in their afterlife. Other than urging those who continue to desecrate the site to STOP and restore what they have destroyed, we have been quiet about those who continue to neglect and abandon Washington Park, and also those who have the ability to do something, and do not. For us, it’s not about pointing fingers at each other. It's about everyone pointing at ourselves. We hope you will read the stories we post of those who made a way out of no way, through conditions much worse than 2021, and who WORKED TOGETHER to get things done. We will continue to encourage the community publicly through biographies of this inspirational heritage, but we will also be having these uncomfortable conversations. Washington Park was a source of pride for our people. As we learn from them, and do the right thing, it will be again. *We encourage all donors to ensure your donations are going to a publicly transparent registered and/or 501c3 entity, and that the money will be used to purchase mowing equipment that is suitable for cemetery maintenance.

Today, James Dodson, a nursing student at Wheaton College, was busy looking for his great grandmother and great grandfather, Pinkey and Virge Boyd. We were able to find their location, but did not find headstones. James has about 10 relatives in Washington Park and has vowed to find them all before returning to school in the Fall. Pinkey Oliver Boyd was born in Louisiana on September 14, 1895 to Sarah Gilmore and Lexis Oliver. She worked in housekeeping and lived with her sis...ter Fannie Long at 3128 Pine. She died of a stroke April 15, 1931 at the age of 35. Her husband, Virge, was born the same day, and also in Louisiana, in 1891 to Ella Rodley and Jerry Boyd. He was a laborer and died in 1931 from cerebral simple meningitis. He was 39. Pinkey is in Section 4 where our youth from Teens of tomorrow cleared last year! Thanks to their hard work, it saved so much time today locating nearby stones for reference. Unfortunately, Virge is deep in the overgrowth of Section 8. The records for this section are very different, and the burials are spaced very close. Over the years, the road was also narrowed to make space for more burials. So now Virge's lot, which was once right along the road, is now farther in. Still, we were able to find his grave and even help identify the name on a beautiful, giant stone laying face down next to him. As the GIS survey moves along, descendants are so helpful when it comes to learning the "new" updated layout of the cemetery since it was originally laid out. In each section an "A" means something different. Within each lot, graves are sometimes arranged differently contributing to the confusion. But the more descendants that come to help locate their loved ones, the more we understand the different situations for each family. It is so wonderful to see young scholars, like James, interested in their ancestry, the heritage of WPC and with enough passion to help lead it into the future! I am so sure Mr. & Mrs. Boyd were just as proud.

. , a senior at Lincoln University - Missouri, was majoring in sociology. He was a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Incorporated. He was fatally shot on April 10th, 1969 by an unidentified assailant while walking with his fiance in the 1200 block of North Kingshighway. His fiance, Miss Angela Suttle, also a student at Lincoln University, told police that she and Paul had left The Chase Park Plaza Hotel dining room and were walking to his home at 5067 Page. She ...heard someone run up behind them, and then a young man grabbed Paul around the neck and told him not to turn around. Paul struggled with the man, who had a revolver, until he shot him. Paul died an hour later at Homer G. Phillips Hospital of a wound to the chest. He was 22. We hope that his brothers from Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Incorporated will help lift him up.

. - Principal of Sumner High School & Vashon High School Each morning Principal Williams stood in the center of a hall that covered a long double block. His presence there, in the early days, quelled any disorder that might have occurred at either end from playing and prankster students and suggested that students move promptly to their classes. In time, the need to indicate to the students what conduct was desirable was unnecessary, so Williams confine...Continue reading

CLIPPED FROM St. Louis Post-Dispatch Sunday Oct 8, 1972 Page 8 The voice on the speaker system is suspected to have been Virginia Younger.

Before & After Section 7

More Before & Afters #Progress #Restoration

Great job, cleaning crew!!! #SavingWashingtonPark #100thAnniversary #Restoration #GuardianAngels

The St. Louis Preservation Crew would like to thank all of the volunteers who made Clean Up Day a huge success! An incredible amount of overgrowth was cleared in just a few hours. Thank you! We could NOT do this work without the love and care of the community. To our co-hosts and sponsors, the ASLAA, PotBangerz - Feed the Body Mission, Hallmark Stone, St. Louis County NAACP, St. Louis Genealogical Society, Woofies, For the People - STL and all of the city and county leadership that came to support, we cannot thank you enough! Thank you for supporting a mission that is bigger than any one of us....and even bigger than WPC. Thank you, Rena Schergen, for your support, dedication and these lovely photos! https://www.facebook.com/media/set/

"She's up!" "Hallelujah!"

Community Clean Up Day October 17, 2020 **************************** Happy 100th Anniversary, Washington Park Cemetery! ... Thank you to all who came!!! See more

This soldier's memorial was rescued from this tree. (before pic and video in comments) *************************************... Private Russell Moore (b. 1894) lived at 4062a Finney Avenue with his wife Minnie Mann Moore. He worked at Scullen Steel Works for 24 years until his death. He died at 1130 N. Sarah Street of pneumonia on March 17, 1937. He was born in Century, Florida to parents Barbara and Julius Moore.