Garrison Playground

E 146 St bet. Walton Av and Grand Concourse

Bronx

This text is part of Parks’ Historical Signs Project and can be found posted within the park.

“I will be harsh as truth, and as uncompromising as justice.”
-William Lloyd Garrison

William Lloyd Garrison (1805-1879) worked his entire life for the equality of all United States citizens. In particular, he used his position as the editor of numerous publications to foster support for the abolition of slavery.

Garrison was born in Newburyport, Massachusetts. His father, Abijah, was an itinerant fisherman, but drank heavily and deserted his family. Garrison began his career as an apprentice to a newspaper editor at age 13. He became editor of the Newburyport Herald in 1824 and of Boston’s National Philanthropist four years later. In 1828, Garrison and Benjamin Lundy, as co-editors of Baltimore’s Genius of Universal Emancipation, were sued for libel by the owner of a slave-transporting ship and served seven weeks in jail.