Who was James Parks?

For me, the story of James Parks begins with historian Allison Finkelstein. Dr. Finkelstein is the senior historian at Arlington National Cemetery. I first came across her when I read the Phase II Intensive-Level Survey of the Confederate Memorial which she helped write. The State of Virginia requested the survey to determine if the Confederate Memorial was eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. The conclusion was that it would qualify. The report noted that Arlington National Cemetery already does, and that the removal of the Confederate Memorial would not change that. So, tear it down anyway.

Jackson Circle, the road that goes around the Confederate Memorial at Arlington, was apparently named for a Confederate or there would be no need to change it. A quick internet search did not reveal who it honors, but it must change, so it is likely one of the six Confederate generals named Jackson. Was Andrew Jackson a slave owner? I digress.

I watched Dr. Finkelstein in a video describing all the ins and outs, complexities, something about memories, and ensuring Arlington reflects the local community and those who lived there. This all in a lead up to announcing her top pick for a new name. Enter James Parks.

When I heard the name, I was a little embarrassed that I did not know of him. Finkelstein assured everyone that “Mr. Parks’ story is quite widely known among some circles of people, scholars and communities of African Americans and other people interested in Arlington County History.”

Parks was born a slave in 1843. George Washington Parke Custis owned him, and he received his freedom in 1862 under the terms of the Custis will. He lived in the freedman’s village and began working for the US Army building Fort McPherson which was on the Custis plantation. When the property became a cemetery in 1864, he began “gravedigging and cemetery maintenance” according to the Arlington website. He worked at the cemetery well into his 80s and according to the website was buried with full military honors at the cemetery. He had 22 children and five served in World War I.

Mr. Parks’ story is quintessentially American. It should be told, and I will make sure I see the plaque the American Legion provided for his headstone. But we are talking about a name for a street in our premier military cemetery. He did not serve in uniform. Let Arlington County honor him with a street name.