The life-size bronze monument, unveiled at General Edward O. Gourdin and African American Veterans Memorial Park, honors the man who served as commander and general of one of the Army’s last racially segregated African American battalions during World War II.

Gourdin, who died in 1966, lived a life full of accomplishments, beyond his service in the Army. A couple include being the first man in history to record a 25-foot long jump and the first African-American appointed as a Superior Court judge in New England. 

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The park is a brainchild of Ralph F. Browne Jr., a veteran who sought a monument to recognize African American veterans across Boston and the Commonwealth.

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City officials held a groundbreaking at the 18,000-square-foot triangular parcel, bordered by Washington Street, Malcolm X Boulevard, and Shawmut Avenue, in October 2021, but Browne’s vision came to be in 1996, his wife, Wilma Browne, recounted Tuesday.

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The previous park that took up space was dedicated to Gourdin in 2010, but people oftentimes cut through it  rather than somewhere they’d reflect on Black veterans’ service. The renovated park and memorial looks to change that, Browne highlighted.

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“This park creates an opportunity for our community and others to know of the sacrifice, courage and struggle of Massachusetts African American veterans throughout time and the significant role they continue to play in our community,”.

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#blackhistroy #massjuneteenthcouncil #cityofboston

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Source: https://www.bostonherald.com/2023/08/01/memorial-honoring-bostons-black-veterans-unveiled-in-roxburys-nubian-square/