Master Plan does not pass final vote by Park Commissioners, resolution naming clubhouse after significant Black Minneapolis golfer passes
Posted on 27 July, 2021At its July 21, 2021 meeting, the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) of Commissioners voted on two resolutions regarding the Hiawatha Golf Course Property.
Park Commissioners did not approve Resolution 2021-249, the Hiawatha Golf Course Area Master Plan and its amendment to the Nokomis-Hiawatha Regional Park Master Plan. MPRB staff are formulating next steps and have contacted the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) about permissions necessary to dewater the golf course property.
With the master plan not approved, no change will happen on the golf course property and pumping will continue until receiving direction otherwise from the DNR. Other changes framed in the master plan will not happen, including increasing access to the property from the neighborhood, measures intended to reduce trash inflow to Lake Hiawatha, reduced groundwater pumping in order to protect nearby homes and protection of wildlife inhabiting the lake environment.
Park Commissioners voted to approve Resolution 2021-250, which named the clubhouse at Hiawatha Golf Course the Solomon Hughes Sr. Clubhouse, effective immediately. Hughes was a Black Minneapolis resident who dedicated a significant part of his life to integrating Minneapolis golf courses and ending discrimination within the sport of golf.
MPRB staff will create and display information at Solomon Hughes Sr. Clubhouse about Hughes and other Black golfers who worked to end discrimination on Minneapolis golf courses and extend the sport of golf within the Black community.
About Solomon Hughes Sr.
The naming of the clubhouse in honor of Solomon Hughes Sr. recognizes his significant contributions to Minneapolis golf courses and the sport of golf during a time when Hughes was not permitted to enter the clubhouse solely because of the color of his skin.
While many have contributed, among the first and most prominent Black golfers was Solomon Hughes Sr. Growing up in Alabama and learning to play golf by caddying, he made his way through several levels of employment at a private golf club to the point where he was giving golf lessons to men and women club members. By the 1930s, his golf skills progressed enough where he competed in professional events sponsored by the UGA, a national association for Black golfers.
At age 26, Hughes won the national UGA championship. As a top player in the UGA, he continued winning events and stood out among Black golfers on the UGA circuit. After serving in World War II, Hughes befriended heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis. Hughes moved with his young family to Minneapolis, where Louis visited Hughes many times. Hughes was convinced that he could work as a golf professional in Minneapolis, a city where his family had access to a good education and public facilities, including golf courses. While he was not able to gain employment as a golf professional, he joined the Twin Cities Golf Club, a group of Black golfers, and offered golf lessons to anyone wanting to learn the sport.
Solomon Hughes and his brother, Fern, played a significant role in integrating Hiawatha Golf Course. Most Black golfers played this course, more than any other Twin Cities golf course, but could not enter the clubhouse. By 1948, at age 40, Mr. Hughes was still competing in as many national tournaments and local events as his time permitted.
In July, he hosted Joe Louis at an Elks golf tournament in Golden Valley. It’s likely that Hughes and Louis discussed applying pressure to the PGA at its St. Paul Open. While several events would seem to support Hughes’ inclusion in that golf event, his entry fee was returned, leading to publicity centered on the event’s discrimination. Continuing efforts by Hughes and others, he failed to make the cut at the 1953 St. Paul Open, after which he focused on UGA, local tournaments and continuing to teach golf lessons at public golf courses.
It was the pressure applied to the PGA in 1948 that helped lead to the elimination of its Caucasians-only clauses in 1961. As much as any individual and continuing throughout his life, Solomon Hughes worked quietly to end discrimination at Minneapolis golf courses.