{"id":113,"date":"2026-06-04T16:57:19","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T16:57:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/efp\/?p=113"},"modified":"2026-06-04T16:58:31","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T16:58:31","slug":"whose-name-shapes-a-place-franklin-park-elma-lewis-and-the-power-of-place-names","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/efp\/2026\/06\/04\/whose-name-shapes-a-place-franklin-park-elma-lewis-and-the-power-of-place-names\/","title":{"rendered":"Whose Name Shapes a Place? Franklin Park, Elma Lewis, and the Power of Place Names"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Tami Gordon, Nature in the City Fellow<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Group of people at Elma Lewis Playhouse at rally in Franklin Park, 1968 via Boston Public Library<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Boston\u2019s Franklin Park is not only a site for recreation\u2014it is also a space where competing narratives of history, identity, and belonging unfold. As the largest park in the Emerald Necklace Park System, the park hosts an array of wooded trails, open meadows, recreational fields, and the Franklin Park Zoo, offering a range of experiences that connect residents to nature within an urban environment.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My professional project focuses on how Afro-Caribbean immigrant communities experience outdoor spaces and build a sense of belonging and meaning within their neighborhood.\u00a0Building on\u00a0Nature in the City<\/a>\u2019s goal of increasing access to nature, I have come to see that physical proximity to green space is not enough; access must also be cultural, relational, and grounded in community representation. My own experience in Franklin Park helped bring this research into focus.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before moving to Boston, I spent every summer with my family in the Bronx, where our neighbors, storekeepers, churches, and rhythms were intrinsically Caribbean. I understand my Caribbean heritage as an essential part of my Black diasporic identity, yet Boston\u2019s perceived lack of a distinct Afro-Caribbean cultural presence often made that part of me feel isolated and flattened\u2014reduced to race alone.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That changed when I unexpectedly encountered Boston\u2019s Trinidad-Style Carnival parade along Franklin Park.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I saw paradegoers exchanging beaded bracelets, singing and dancing to familiar riddims under the proudly displayed Caribbean flags that stretch down the avenue for miles\u2014symbols that grounded my international heritage within a place I had once assumed lacked Black and Caribbean presence. Events like Carnival, along with informal gatherings, cookouts, and community programming position Franklin Park as more than just a green space\u2014it is a site for cultural continuity and identity-making. My work on this project has also illuminated the importance of local stewardship and intentional cultural representation of the communities that green spaces are a part of.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While researching Caribbean community leaders, I repeatedly encountered the name Elma Lewis. When I later saw her connection to Franklin Park and the important role that she played in reviving Franklin Park as a point of pride for the community, I was upset by the absence of a prominent, permanent physical marker honoring her legacy within the park itself as a Caribbean-American and a Bostonian.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the 1960\u2019s, Miss Lewis led a massive cleanup campaign to restore Franklin Park, which had suffered from neglect, rats, garbage, and drug paraphernalia.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After its restoration, Miss Lewis created the Elma Lewis Playhouse-in-the-Park, which brought free, nightly performances to Franklin Park. These programs fostered some of Boston\u2019s largest and most meaningful cultural gatherings and featured some of Boston\u2019s greatest performers, including Duke Ellington and Odetta. The Playhouse is a vital cultural institution in Boston, and Miss Lewis\u2019 legacy of access to nature, cultural pride, and creative expression is carried forward by the Franklin Park Coalition.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Franklin Park was once a heavily neglected area of Boston, and without Miss Lewis\u2019 vision and relationship to the space, we would not have the Playhouse concert series and a welcoming park to gather outdoors with our loved ones. <\/strong>As the City of Boston changes over time, future leaders must recognize and honor the lasting traces of earlier times to be equitable.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Tami Gordon (they\/them\/theirs) is the Nature in the City Fellow for Cohort 4 (2025-2026). Tami works with the Nature in the City program staff and provides support to both the Boston Tree Alliance and Broadmeadow Brook. A recent graduate from Boston University\u2019s Earth and Environmental Sciences program, Tami has been a lover of the environment since they were a child growing up with the stories of their Jamaican and Trinidadian household. When they\u2019re not at work, you can find them making music, birding, or writing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Image Source: Group of people at Elma Lewis Playhouse at rally in Franklin Park [Photograph]. (1968, September 25). Retrieved from https:\/\/ark.digitalcommonwealth.org\/ark:\/50959\/rb68zd10q<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tami Gordon, Nature in the City Fellow Boston\u2019s Franklin Park is not only a site for recreation\u2014it is also a space where competing narratives of history, identity, and belonging unfold. As the largest park in the Emerald Necklace Park System, the park hosts an array of wooded trails, open meadows, recreational fields, and the Franklin […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":138,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-113","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/efp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/efp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/efp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/efp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/138"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/efp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=113"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/efp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":117,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/efp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113\/revisions\/117"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/efp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=113"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/efp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=113"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/efp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=113"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}