Results tagged “Mildred Chapman” from York Town Square

Crispus Attucks Community Center's Mildred Chapman told girls that they should care about the way they looked. 'You can be poor,' she said, 'but you don't have to look bad, or smell bad.' She and her husband, Russell W., (see photo below) were among the top leaders in York's black community in the middle of the 20th century. Background posts: Thackston Park area connects to York's past and Civil rights heroes stand out at Bradley exhibit.

Everyone in York's black community - heck, everyone in York - knew Mildred and Russell W. Chapman... .

This graphic from the "Recapture the Riverfront" booklet raises the possibility of relocating Helen Thackston Park from the north side of West College Avenue across the street to the side south, where public housing now stands. Background posts: Helen Reeves Thackston's name lives on and Histories attempt to fill blanks in women's, black history.

A potentially controversial proposal to relocate Thackston Park touches on several historic sites in that part of town.

First, the park itself points to a revered community matriarch: Helen Reeves Thackston.

As director of the Crispus Attucks Early Learning Center from 1932 to 1964, she touched the lives of hundreds of people who gratefully remember her contributions.

"Helen didn't just teach children, she taught them to be proud," Sylvia Newcombe, retired York Recreation Commission head, said in 1979... .