Howard Bennett Playground

Howard Bennett (1911-1981), a Harlem community leader, was the founder of the National Citizens Committee for a Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday. From the time of Dr. King's assassination on April 4, 1968 until his own death thirteen years later, Bennett campaigned persistently to make January 15, the birthday of the civil rights leader, a national holiday.

The idea for the holiday was conceived while Bennett and several friends were returning from Dr. King's funeral in Atlanta. After renting a storefront in Harlem which he called “Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday,” Bennett enlisted the help of a few dedicated grassroots activists and began gathering signatures.

In April 1970, along with William Byrd and other members of the 131st Street Block Association, Bennett presented six million signatures to Brooklyn Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm and Detroit Congressman John Conyers. Chisholm and Conyers introduced a bill into Congress, which was passed in 1983. On November 2, 1983, President Ronald Reagan signed Public Law HR3706 making January 15th a National Holiday in honor of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Since 1986, the holiday has been observed on the third Monday in January.

Bennett, one of sixteen brothers and sisters, was born in Greenwich Village. After serving in the Pacific Theater during World War II, he became a leader of the 369th Veterans Association, a Harlem-based organization of war veterans. He served as Labor Chairman of the New York Branch of the N.A.A.C.P. and was a consultant and confidante of labor leader A. Phillip Randolph. In 1977, Southeastern University of Greenville, South Carolina, awarded him an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Humanities for his contribution to civil rights. His last public act was to participate in the Solidarity March on Washington for Jobs on September 19, 1981.

This property, which is jointly operated with the Board of Education, was acquired by the City in 1954 when P.S. 197 was built. It was opened as a playground on October 3, 1958. It was named for Bennett in 1982 under a local law introduced by Council Member Fred Samuel and signed by Mayor Edward I. Koch.