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LeMoyne Center’s good works

2 min read

As the civil rights movement fades further into the past, it becomes harder to recall that systemic discrimination against African Americans was not a phenomenon confined to cigar-chomping sheriffs with hounds and fire hoses in Alabama or a Ku Klux Klan klavern in Mississippi.

Discrimination was part of life north of the Mason-Dixon line as well, a fact brought to life in a story that appeared in Wednesday’s edition about a documentary that was made about the LeMoyne Community Center in Washington. Originally opening its doors in the 1930s and bearing the name of carriage maker Robert Forrest, who donated 30 acres of land to the city’s black community, it was rechristened the LeMoyne Community Center in 1956, after the 19th century Washington philanthropist and abolitionist Julius LeMoyne. The ribbon-cutting ceremony was attended by Jackie Robinson, who broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball just a decade before, along with Robinson’s general manager, Branch Rickey.

Turns out it was the only place in Washington that African Americans were allowed to go swimming.

The 20-minute documentary, “Revealing LeMoyne,” was unveiled Tuesday and can be seen online at www.vimeo/com/richardtfields. It details the community center’s history, including some recent tough times, such as when it was severely damaged by fire in 2004 and largely abandoned. It was resuscitated under the guidance of Washington dance teacher Joyce Ellis and remains a place where young people can take advantage of educational, health and recreation programs.

Too many movies get too many sequels, but we hope the LeMoyne Community Center’s story is a tale that will be continued.

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