Chestertown Recreation Commission Chair Jim Bogden is now moving to restrict the Ajax Basketball Court to ages 15 and under and post signs of the restrictions at the court.
Email documents also show a move by Bogden to limit discussion to only youth at a proposed meeting for June 8.
The move to age-restrict the court is a result of increasing pressure from Tidewater Trader Publisher Carla Johnson and a group of 30 people she claims to represent, which include business owners and residents downtown who oppose restoring the old Ajax Basketball Court to its original two-hoop configuration — when the court was in its heyday and frequented by Black residents of all ages.
The move is a change from the original plan the CRC submitted to the council on April 5, which was in the spirit of the Black Lives Matter movement last summer that launched the effort to save the court and honor the mission of the comprehensive plan that calls for “improving recreational opportunities for all ages.”
Though the court would be designed to attract youth players, the original CRC plan made no mention of an age restriction.
In 2019 the CRC had suggested a complete removal of the court but an effort to save the court was spawned during discussions of the Black Lives Matter murals in the summer of 2020 following world-wide protests of the murder of George Floyd.
“Grass-roots’ backlash from the community was immediate and intense,” said the CRC report to the town council on April 5.
A “Save Ajax Pocket Park” movement began, complete with lawn signs and a petition with 200 signatures, the CRC report said.
The CRC’s final plan called for a junior high size court with two baskets to attract youth but there were no age restrictions mentioned in the report. The only restrictions in the CRC plan excluded regional and league play.
Justin Munson, 35, of Chestertown said the CRC’s plan to consider age restrictions dismisses what the court means to the Black community.
“You cannot divorce the story of Chestertown from the history that is Ajax Park,” he said in an interview at the Big Mixx Unisex Salon on Philosophers Terrace. “So implementing these restrictions absolutely destroys the history we all know about Ajax.”
“This is another way to…keep black people away from the downtown area,” he said. “Limiting the court to 15 and under means that I can’t take my son because I’m over 15. For those of us who remember the history of Ajax it absolutely was a place for families and where I found some of my first mentors when it came to playing basketball and getting into sports. The people who are intimately connected to the community are aware of what Ajax was and what it does mean to us.”
When asked if the 30 people led by Carla Johnson should reveal themselves, Munson said they already had.
“I think they have already revealed themselves,” he said. “Just not in a way that you and I would expect people who move with integrity to reveal themselves. They reveal themselves to have a certain type of animosity toward a demographic that doesn’t fit into the community…they want to portray.”
“If I were a 46-year-old white man with a boat I would absolutely feel accommodated and I would feel that I fit here,” he said.
The Kent Pilot interviewed other members of the Black community during a visit to the Big Mixx who echoed Munson’s sentiments.
The Kent Pilot reached out several times to contact Carla Johnson, and her lawyer, Charles “Chip” Macleod, to try and interview constituents who she claims to represent. Those calls have gone unreturned.
I’m from the Deep South. I grew up in a small Cotton/Bible belt town, so I am no stranger to segregation. No matter how blatant or thinly veiled I can spot it a mile away.
Back when the “Black Lives Matter” was being debated, I voiced my opposition. Not because I don’t believe “Black Lives Matter” but I found it the height of hypocrisy. A finger in the dyke. Let’s paint a sign on the road and all go home feeling good. Boy, now I don’t have to think about things like inadequate housing, food banks or even a basketball court.
Come on people see the opposition to Ajax Park for what it is.
It’s fine for the black community to pick up our trash or buy coffee, donuts and ice cream but lord help us, a game of round ball downtown !
Is Chestertown still that far behind?
Every time I read another article about Ajax park I feel I am not getting the full story. Each article zeroes in on a certain aspect of the issue only. I would love one longer article with all the aspects explained, such as: exactly what does Johnson et al object to, what is the full history of the park (any pictures?), are there other two-basket courts in town, where are they and are there age restrictions there? Is the money being used to rebuild Ajax restrictive as to age? Has anyone explained the issues with a pro and con chart? How would age restrictions be enforced? Would everyone have to carry IDs? I say just build a two-basket court with no age restrictions! Assuming that there will be problems is racist to the core.
I’m also deeply concerned about the assumptions, questionable at best, that motivate this opposition to restoring Ajax park by a group of people who won’t step forward and identify themselves. Yes, it’s all well and good to paint an anti-racist sign on the street, but when it comes to making sure that our Black citizens really are and feel welcomed in this town, there’s opposition to that. Plus, how is an age limit supposed to work, exactly? Is someone going to card the players for their age? What sort of proof of age are young people 15 and under likely to have? The idea is completely unworkable and just shows how far some people are willing to go to act on their ill-informed, wrong-headed and very problematic assumptions about some of our neighbors.
Age restrictions in a park with a basketball court are nonsensical and discriminatory. Historic charm or no, Chestertown cannot continue to pretend we’re living in the 18th, 19th, or 20th century. The thriving Cannon Street district was decimated to make room for gentrification. The new scene that is blossoming on that street is great, but the path it’s going down right now is unsavory at best.
Because Ajax is a public park, isn’t it unlawful to discriminate? I was surprised to find out that smoking is illegal in
EVERY STATE PARK, this includes Wilmer Park, Fountain Park, Memorial Park, all recreational parks.
Carla is not a resident of Chestertown. Perhaps she should stick to Kent County projects. Children need parks and playgrounds,
understand the importance of Ajax and the gathering of children and families in this park. How can I say to my 14 year old
grandson when he asks me to shoot baskets with him, there are age restrictions? Of course, this could be a learning experience about what this is really about,a group of people not wanting black children downtown. Come on Chestertown, let’s be fair and
give every child an opportunity to play and be welcomed all over town.
Yeah, I’d love to know the names of the 30 on Johnson’s list… Sunlight is said to be a great disinfectant.