Descendant Gets Funding For Memorial Park

Over a century ago, African and Native American residents of Flushing were not permitted to bury their loved ones within town limits because of unjustified fear and racism.
Close to 1,000 bodies were callously and insensitively piled within a three and a half acre piece of land just outside Flushing cemetery between 164th and 165th streets on 46th Avenue previously known as “The Colored Cemetery of Queens” — now known to many as Martin’s Field.
Now, almost 70 years later, those souls once laid to rest beneath the ground at Martin’s Field will gain the dignity owed to them because of the commanding efforts of community activist Mandingo Tshaka, who worked tirelessly for the information necessary to realize his dream of honoring ancestors who were buried there.
Tshaka recruited the aid of Councilmember John Liu and Borough President Helen Marshall in obtaining $2.7 million in funding for a memorial to those buried there so long ago.
For years, Tshaka fought for those without a voice, facing incredible opposition from residents surrounding the property who were not alive to know the history of the land. “Homeowners from the area brought their dogs to that park to defecate and urinate on my ancestors’ grave sites,” said Tshaka.
The bodies were tossed into the ground for decades without any semblance of order until the city acquired the land in 1936 and left it barren for years. The city then installed a park directly above the bodies of black, and even white Flushing residents, who died from cholera and small pox after an epidemic in the 1850’s.
“Those good Christians didn’t want the remains of their people because they felt they were contaminated,” said Tshaka, who led the fight to restore the park to its original purpose. “So they banished the bodies to the colored cemetery, throwing them into two large pits just beneath the ground.”
Construction began just two months ago on the two-phase site meant to transform the the park into a memorial complete with benches, a pathway and two large earth mounds. The fence and sidewalk surrounding the area has already been installed. The handball courts down the road, which previously attracted mischiefmakers at night, are slated to become the future site of the playground.
“The city came in in the 1930’s and with sheer disrespect, paved over the site and built a playground,” Liu said. “This is a terrific plan that will be able to reconcile the historical significance of the site and the community rather than set people apart even more.”
Keil Bros. Gardening Center graciously transported two rare trees out of Tshaka’s front lawn and successfully replanted them in the ground at the future memorial site.
“God moves in mysterious ways,” Tshaka said. “As the church hymn goes, ‘There is a God to make the wounded whole and to heal the sick souls.’ ”
Now, there is only one small detail left that Tshaka hopes will be addressed. “The park, named after Everett P. Martin, a local naturalist, should be renamed to fit its original purpose,” he said.
melissa@queenscourier.com