Macon Magazine

Bob Mavity, senior technical director and default historian at the Grand. "Sadly, the Grand was segregated and the only option the Douglasses had was to sit in the peanut gallery, the top balcony – not easy to get to or comfortable. I heard it became difficult for Mrs. Douglass to climb to the balcony, and he didn't want her to go without seeing live shows or go on being treated as a second-class citizen. He opened his own place." e Douglasses could afford travel and some say being refused admission to a New York theater inspired the decision. Regardless, Hollingshed noted that when Douglass built his theater, he employed decorative elements like broken chains, African royalty masks and other pertinent trimmings representing freedom from oppression. Never satisfied with just one venture, Douglass also operated an adjacent hotel and restaurant among his ongoing businesses. Hollingshed said to bear in mind Douglass' forethought when considering the famous segregation-era guide for black travelers, Victor Hugo Green's "e Negro Motorist Green Book." "Mr. Douglass did something that baffled a lot of fans but delighted performers and made them happy to come here," Hollingshed said. "Instead of worrying where they'd stay or eat, he built secret rooms they could use. But it meant a lot of fans were left wondering and waiting for autographs at the stage door for stars who never came out – no one knew." Granddaughter Simmons remembers hearing about the rooms, a pool table and bar when, as a girl, she ran around the no-longer- populated area now called the annex. HE WAS CALLED A 'RACE MAN' Simmons said her grandfather was a good man who always "wanted all people to be treated the same." By all accounts, Douglass was smart, brave, hard-working and never wasteful. He remained aware of fellow black people and sought to advance their state of affairs. Douglass eatre board member George Fadil Muhammad agreed much of the theater's story is Douglass' own story. He echoed Simmons' idea that Douglass "wanted all people to be treated the same." "But he found himself with a problem," Muhammad said. "Whites wanted to see his shows – some of the best shows in town. e problem was Jim Crowe laws forbade races mixing and to his credit, instead of shutting whites out, Mr. Douglass found ways to let them in and created nights for whites, even dealing with issues like it being illegal for whites and blacks to use the same water fountains or bathrooms. It's amazing how he managed." But Douglass and the theater didn't sit well with all white people, leading to the most horrific moment in the theater's history. "at part of our history is marked by a plaque in front of the theater," Muhammad said. "It recalls that in 1922, a lynch mob dumped the dead, badly mutilated body of John 'Cockey' Glover at the Douglass in an instance of violence and enmity. Glover had been involved in a serious altercation in Macon, a killing, and was then himself murdered after being pulled from a train headed toward Atlanta. e Douglass had nothing to do with the incident but those who murdered him without recourse to a fair trial obviously saw the Douglass as a refuge and symbol for the black community. Douglass was known then as what was called a 'race man' because he proudly stood for his race and culture. He was never militant or advocated violence but was an example of a successful black man who rallied and built his community. Dumping Glover's body there made a statement." It's uncertain if Glover's body was thrown into the Douglass or at HE HAD A GOLDEN TOUCH. HE'S KNOWN FOR THE THEATER BUT HE WAS A TRUE ENTREPRENEUR HIS WHOLE LIFE." -CAMELLIA SIMMONS " JUNE/JULY 2020 | maconmagazine.com 45

• Cover