Celebrating 90 Years and NYC Landmark Designation at Frederick Douglass Memorial Park

On Sunday, June 22, 2025, Frederick Douglass Memorial Park in Oakwood, Staten Island, proudly celebrated its 90th anniversary, the one-year anniversary of its designation as a New York City landmark, and the unveiling of a commemorative plaque honoring the site’s historic significance. The event occurred just three days after Juneteenth, adding to the sense of reflection and community.

Several dozen attendees, including members of the park’s board of directors, elected officials, and veterans from the 369th Infantry Regiment (Harlem Hell Fighters)—an African American unit renowned for its service in WWI and WWII—gathered to honor the cemetery’s legacy. Board member Vasheena Brisbane served as emcee, while Chaplain Forest Ballard delivered the invocation.

Lynn Cuffee, secretary of the board, highlighted the struggles and resilience that have defined the park’s history. “We have weathered storms, financial hardship, neglect and moments where our very survival was in question. And yet, we are still here,” she said, acknowledging civil rights leaders, educators, clergy members, veterans, entertainers, and everyday heroes buried at the site—including her own father, blues singer Mamie Smith, trumpeter Tommy Ladnier, Negro League baseball players Elias “Country Brown” Bryant and King Solomon “Sol” White, and Joanna Berry Shields, one of the founders of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

Founded in 1935 by Harlem funeral director Rodney Dade, the park was established as the only non-sectarian African American cemetery in New York City, providing dignity and respect for Black New Yorkers during a time of discrimination and segregation. While named for Frederick Douglass, the abolitionist and statesman is buried in Rochester, New York.

Richmond County District Attorney Michael E. McMahon reflected on the history the park represents: “This is not only a memorial park to those who are buried here, but to a part of American history that we all should not be proud of.” Public Administrator Edwina Martin, the first Black individual to hold her position in the borough, emphasized, “This is not just Black history, this is American history… the landmark status could not have come at a better moment in time.”

The ceremony concluded with the unveiling of the commemorative plaque, met with applause, hugs, handshakes, and tears. Attendees celebrated the park’s continued role as a nearly 15-acre modern cemetery serving all communities while honoring the legacy of African American resilience, self-determination, and excellence.

“This sacred ground was built by African Americans for African Americans, but not excluding others,” Cuffee said. “It is the purpose of the park to lessen sorrow by creating around death an atmosphere of beauty and inspiration.”

The 90th anniversary and landmark designation celebration stands as a reminder of the park’s enduring significance and the generations of lives, stories, and legacies it continues to protect and honor.

Read the full coverage in SILive: Community celebrates 90th anniversary of landmarked NYC cemetery