Public art installation to highlight former Brownsville community in Frostburg

Sep. 26—CUMBERLAND, Md. — Plans are underway for a new public art installation to highlight Brownsville, a community of freed Black people that lived where Frostburg State University's campus is today.

The area was also known as "Park Ave."

According to the book "Being Black in Brownsville — Echoes of a 'Forgotten' Frostburg" by Lynn Bowman, members of the community were forced to sell their houses for $10 in order for the expansion of Frostburg State College, now known as FSU.

In a 2019 Cumberland Times-News interview, Frostburg resident Lance Jackson Sr. talked of emotional, physical and financial tolls his family and others faced.

"It's important to know about the lives that were disturbed and the struggle we had to go through to rebuild our lives after that," he said. "I saw my dad work three jobs to meet the mortgage on McCulloh Street after he lost his house on Park Avenue, which the family had fully owned (with no mortgage) for at least two generations."

In August 2020, a monument to Brownsville/Park Avenue was placed on the FSU campus.

New art project

Jackson's daughter, Clory Jackson, is the founder of The Brownsville Project, which aims to abolish systemic oppression by helping communities confront and heal from suppressed history.

She said FrostburgFirst, a Maryland Main Street Community, approached her about the new art project.

As part of the Frostburg Arts & Entertainment District's strategic plan, FrostburgFirst will facilitate the new public art installation in collaboration with The Brownsville Project to highlight the often-overlooked impact of the Brownsville community on the history and culture of Frostburg.

"I was super excited," Clory Jackson said Thursday.

The new art installation will expand awareness of Brownsville beyond the FSU campus, and provide a valuable educational resource for visitors and new residents of the area, she said.

The project marks a step forward toward community repair, and allows the Brownsville legacy to "not be ignored, and to be put back into the narrative of our local history," Clory Jackson said.

Deirdre Robertson is executive director of FrostburgFirst, the Main Street Program, and Arts & Entertainment District for Frostburg.

"I grew up in Keyser (West Virginia) and I never had any idea of the Brownsville community," she said and added she was "really surprised" to learn of the history.

State arts grant

FrostburgFirst was awarded $5,000 from the Maryland State Arts Council: Public Art Across Maryland New Artworks Planning Grant.

"The planning grant actually allows us to (hire) an independent researcher," Robertson said of a consultant to help provide a more comprehensive history, and identify appropriate sites within the Frostburg A&E District for the artwork to be installed.

The Brownsville Project will guide a steering committee for the upcoming plan to ensure the voices of descendants are honored.

The committee will be comprised of FrostburgFirst staff members, descendants of Brownsville/Park Ave., representatives of the NAACP Allegany County Branch #7007, local businesses, the Frostburg Department of Community Development, FSU, local artists and other interested community members.

The group will meet regularly to establish project goals, manage logistics, develop the requests for proposals and form a selection committee.

It will also host public meetings for community members to learn about the research related to the project and provide feedback regarding the content and location of the artwork prior to finalizing installation plans.

A call for artists will be open to all local and regional artists, with priority given to submissions from local artists and people of color.

With successful completion of the planning process and selection of a proposal, FrostburgFirst will seek additional funding for implementation of the project, Robertson said.

Frostburg resident Andrea De Palatis will represent the Frostburg Museum to help with the project.

"I was happy to be involved," she said. "The role of the arts in public spaces is very important to a well-balanced community."

To learn more, visit The Brownsville Project and FrostburgFirst.

Teresa McMinn is a reporter for the Cumberland Times-News. She can be reached at 304-639-2371 or tmcminn@times-news.com.