In the depression and into the 1940’s various Work Progress Administration (WPA) projects were activated by the federal government to put people to work. There were new roads built, state park improvements, sewing rooms, etc. One of those projects was an authorship in which local authors documented local housing, recreation, businesses, churches, etc. One of those projects was the Illinois
Writers Project based out of Chicago. I ran across a series of articles written in 1941 specifically about the black community of Marion under the general heading of “The Negro in Illinois.” I present these articles just as written in 1941.

Recreation, by Beulah DeVard

The WPA recreation center for the colored is located at 815 S. Liberty St. in Marion, Ill. Here they have a craft display and play indoor games during rainy days of cold weather. They also practice boxing there. The boxers are:

1.Johnny Hinton, 2. Bob Thomas, 3. Paul Wheeler, 4. Roy Johnson, 5. Herbert “Speedy” Martin, 6. Kid Barker, 7. Eddie Williams, 8. Buddy Gales

Kid Barber won the boxing tournament at Centralia this season, which entitled him to go to the one in Chicago. He lost there however.

The first five boys mentioned above participated in a “battle royal” at the fair ground on Sept. 25-26, 1941. The crowd averaged about one thousand each night and the “battle royal” was staged between the horse races. They have been booked to appear once a week during the winter season in the exhibition building at the fair ground. (Williamson County)

There was an unusually big Labor Day celebration in Marion this year. A big parade was the main feature of the morning program which drew a large crowd of spectators. Ruben Tittsworth drove his truck with the float for the recreation center. The sides were beautifully decorated with colored paper and the name of the project. It represented a miniature tennis court with a couple of colored girls, rackets in hand, as if in the act of playing tennis.

Even since WPA made possible a supervised recreational program, colored participation has been good in this community. Ed. Barnett has had charge of recreation for about three years continuous servie with the exception of time lost because of the eighteen months ruling. Interest lagged during this time and had to be revived.

During the summer months, tennis, bad-minton, softball, la bacci, volley ball, football, basketball, croquet and other play ground games are played by both white and colored. Participation has reached two hundred per day but it’s much less now especially since school has started. This playground consists of seven city lots, located near the center of the city and between the white and colored communities. This plot of ground was generously donated by Dave Rodgers, manger of the Coca Cola plant to be used as a place of recreation by the colored people. The white population had a separate place for recreation until the past few months when their recreation center was closed.

Consultant: Ed Barnett, born and raised here, 400 S. Monroe Street

(Source: Downloaded from the Chicago Public Library)