Fundraising Campaign for Gourdin Park in Roxbury's Dudley Square
Fundraising Campaign for Gourdin Park in Roxbury's Dudley SquarePlease contribute to the long-deferred installation of public art in Gourdin Memorial Park at Roxbury's Dudley Square! The Veterans and Friends of Gourdin Memorial Park are dedicated to honoring African American veterans of Massachusetts who served in all wars. The most distinguished among them is Justice Gourdin who will be honored with a full-length bronze portrait sculpted by Boston artist Fern Cunningham. Ten reliefs carved by fellow sculptor Karen Eutemey celebrate the service of African American veterans from Massachusetts. The Friends are working closely with the City of Boston, many supporters and the Urban Culture Institute to realize the project. Edward Orval "Ned" Gourdin (1897–1966), jurist, veteran, athlete and civil rights activist, was the first African American and the first Native American (Seminole) to be appointed a Superior Court judge in New England. Gourdin studied law at the Harvard University, where he completed both his undergraduate and law school degrees. While at Harvard he competed in the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris and won a silver medal in long jump. Gourdin was colonel of the 372nd Infantry Regiment during World War II, and commandant of the 272nd during the Korean War, the last segregated military unit in the United States. He served the Roxbury District Court from 1951 until 1958, when he was appointed to the Massachusetts Superior Court, a post he held until his death. Site Description Gourdin Park, located in the heart of Roxbury's Dudley Square, will become a memorial to the African American veterans of Massachusetts who served in all wars. Martha Lyon Landscape Architecture designed the new commemorative plaza in Gourdin Park. The 18,000-square-foot triangular parcel is bordered by Washington Street, Malcolm X Boulevard and Shawmut Avenue in Roxbury. The park faces the District B-2 Police Station. Nearby are the local US Post Office, Dudley Library Branch and Roxbury Municipal Court. The Parks and Recreation department is working to improve the park. The park was rezoned by the City as an Open Space Urban Plaza in 1988 and initially designed in 1998 by M. Eyad Fadul, a landscape engineering student who interned at the Boston Redevelopment Authority during his senior year at the King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Fundraising Update In 2017, the Edward Ingersoll Browne Trust Fund of the City of Boston committed $300,000 towards the casting and installation of the commemorative Edward O. Gourdin bronze sculpture and 10 reliefs honoring Massachusetts African American veterans in Gourdin Memorial Park. Matching funds in the amount of $350,000 are necessary to undertake the project. |
A NEW VISION FOR EDWARD O. GOURDIN PARK
Martha Lyon Landscape Architecture developed a new design for Gourdin Park that integrates landscape design and public art by Fern Cunningham and Karen Eutemey for new, both recreational and educational, programs. Download the Gourdin Park Preliminary Park Program Gourdin Park in Context: African American Veterans Memorials in the U.S. EVENTS & MEETINGS Saturday, May 19, 2018, 2:00 p.m. 16th Annual African American Veterans Military Heritage Day The Organization of Afro-American Veterans invites you to celebrating Gourdin Memorial Park and to participate in a parade Download the flyer Monday, March 12, 2018, 2:30-3:00 p.m. Justice Edward O. Gourdin Park Flag Raising Ceremony 2405 Washington Street, Boston, MA 02119 Friday, February 23, 2018, 6:00 p.m. | Black History Month 2018 Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War: In Honor of Black Veterans, John D. O’Bryant African American Institute at Northeastern University 40 Leon Street, Boston, MA 02115 Download the flyer | RSVP requested RELATED PRESS Abeel, Daphne. "Vita: Edward Orval Gourdin." Harvard Magazine, Nov. 1997. Kondratiuk, Leonid. "Five Centuries of Service." Bay State Banner, 2011. "Viva 'the Deuce': Roxbury Honors Korean War Vets." Bay State Banner, 05/19/11. Visit the Veterans and Friends of the Edward Gourdin Statue Project on Facebook. TO MAKE A DONATION OR TO GET INVOLVED Visit the Gourdin Memorial Park website for additional information or contact the Veterans and Friends of Gourdin Park Inc., a 501 (c) (3) not-for-profit organization, to make a contribution in cash or otherwise. We are also seeking volunteers to get involved and to assist with fundraising. Please email Christina Lanzl at the Urban Culture Institute. |