Millstone Times July 2022

Using Their Voices: Founding National Park Service

In August, we celebrated the 104th Birthday to the National Park Service, officially established on August 16th, 1916. For over a century the Servicehas been telling the American story through monuments, memorials, battlefields, and our iconic national parks. Find more park at nps.gov, where you'll also find updated information, current conditions and tips on how to recreate responsibly. Yes, the 19th Amendment is about voting rights for women. But in a country built on the concept that voting is the ultimate act of civic engagement, ratification of the amendment signaled something even deeper: it affirmed the public role of women in our nation’s social, civic, and policy-making realms.

As we commemorate both the centennial of the 19th Amendment and the 104th birthday of the National Park Service, we’re highlighting and sharing a few women who harnessed their public voices to protect powerfully important American places. From rich, naturally diverse ecosystems and landscapes to sites that call on us to be strong stewards of our nation’s future, today these places are units of the National Park System. Marjory Stoneman Douglas | Everglades National Park Shark Valley at Everglades National Park (NPS / DeFalco)

For many, the Everglades in southern Florida was nothing more than a vast swamp that, once drained, could be something much more “useful.” But Marjory Stoneman Douglas recognized the serious, consequential damage caused by changing the Ever glades’ natural systems, especially the natural water flow. She was vocal in her disap proval and distaste for the destruction of the scenic wetlands. She knew that restricting natural water flow results in very little support for vital algae growth, a lack of oxygen dispersal necessary for many aquatic animals to thrive, and a decrease in open water feeding areas for wildlife.

Cedar Hill, Frederick Douglass' home in Washington, DC (NPS)

Marjory Stoneman Douglas was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1890. After graduating from Wellesley College with honors, she was a journalist for the Miami Herald and dedicated herself to conversations about feminism, racial justice, and conservation. Douglas was particularly devoted to the Florida Everglades, which she affectionately called “her river.” She fiercely defended it long before scientists recognized the negative effects of agricultural and real estate development on the intricate ecosystem. In 1947, Douglas wrote The Everglades: River of Grass. Her book described the immense importance and beauty of the natural ecosystems of south Florida and the need for protection from human interference. That same year, Everglades National Park was established. Douglas and her passionate, unwavering advocacy for Ever glades conservation played a significant role in establishing the park. She continued to represent the park as the founder and head of the Friends of the Everglades, an organization dedicated to preserving, protecting, and restoring Marjorie Stoneman Douglas’s river. Maggie L. Walker | Frederick Douglass National Historic Site Maggie Lena Walker was born in the Confederate capital city of Richmond, Virginia, in 1864—the last year of the Civil War. Her mother had been born into slavery but was free by the time of her daughter’s birth. Walker was a teacher until she married and became a valued member of the local council of the Independent Order of St. Luke, a national fraternal society devoted to caring for the sick and aged in the African American community. She rose through the ranks, eventually holding the top leadership position, and established a national newspaper called the St. Luke Herald to elevate African American voices and promote a deeper relationship between the Order and the public. Recognizing the economic challenges her community faced, Walker founded the St. Luke Penny Savings Bank and served as the bank’s first president, making her the first African American woman to charter a bank in the United States. Maggie Walker was also very involved in civic groups throughout her life. As a dedicated advocate for African American women’s rights and the education of chil dren, she held leadership positions in the National Association of Colored Women (NACW) and the national NAACP board. Five years after abolitionist, suffragist, and activist Frederick Douglass passed away in 1895 and at the persistent urging of his widow Helen Douglass, Congress char tered the Frederick Douglass Memorial and Historical Association (FDMHA). Walker joined the FDMHA board of trustees and she, along with many other prominent women from around the country including Mary McLeod Bethune, worked tirelessly to make Douglass’ Washington, DC, home, Cedar Hill, a memorial open to the public. After the restoration of the house and documentation of Frederick Douglass’s impressive pursuit of equality and life of activism, the Frederick Douglass estate became a unit of the National Park System in 1962. Walker’s role in the founding of the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site was part of her lifelong engagement in improving her community through social

8 The Millstone Times

July 2022