By 1950, United Booking Office reported that Ford’s, once one of the most prosperous theatres in the nation, had its box office receipts cut almost in half, attributing the decline to the NAACP protest and to the poor selection of plays. of New York, leased the building from Baltimore theatre mogul Morris Mechanic. The theatre, which was operated by United Booking Office Inc. In 1951, Basil Rathbone, the British actor famous for playing Sherlock Holmes, declared: “You may depend on my taking a firm stand of disapproval of the segregated theatre in Baltimore and to inform any management to whom I may in future contract myself and the case of any play in which I play.”īy 1950, the protests were hurting the theatre’s bottom line. In 1948, celebrated singer and Civil Rights activist Paul Robeson walked a picket line in front of the theatre. Protests continued for five years with national and international stars joining the fight. At that time, NAACP executive secretary Addison Pinkney stated that the protest had gone on for ”the entire season” and “reduced the average attendance to less than one-half capacity of building.” Unfortunately, theatre management was resistant to changing their discriminatory policies. As early as 1947, Baltimore’s branch of the NAACP began picketing the theatre. Like many other theatres in downtown Baltimore, Ford's enforced a strict policy of racially segregated seating.
infamous as the site of President Abraham Lincoln's assassination. Ford, a Baltimore native, and the owner of the Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C.
In the years after World War II, the NAACP and their allies worked to end segregated seating at Ford’s Theatre on Fayette Street and drew national attention to the fight for equal rights in Baltimore.įord's Theatre opened in 1871. By The Explore Baltimore Heritage team Textīaltimore activists have a long history of fighting discrimination and segregation in the city’s public establishments. Located In Detroit Michigan The Detroit Opera House Is Convenient For Both Public And Private Transportation Detroit Opera House Seating Chart Fisher Theatre Detroit Seating Chart St Louis Repertory Theater Seating Bridgestone Arena Seat Row Numbers Learn More About Our Founder By Clicking The Button Below Kennedy Center Opera House Seating Chart Theatre In Dc As We Have Everything You.
0 kommentar(er)
