Forest City Tennis Club, America’s oldest African-American tennis club, celebrated 100 years in a special way by honoring Judge Jean Murrell Capers.
On Sunday at 3:30 p.m., a ceremony was held at Rockefeller Park to rename the park’s tennis courts to the Judge Jean Murrell Capers Tennis Courts at Rockefeller Park. The tennis court driveway was renamed Forest City Tennis Club Drive.
“Judge Jean Murrell Capers, 99-year-old Cleveland pioneer, is very deserving of this honor,” said Forest City Tennis Club President Kevin Strickland. “Not only was she the first black woman elected to city council of any major U.S. city, served as assistant attorney general, received a Cleveland-Marshall College of Law honorary doctorate of law degree and is the oldest living retired judge in Ohio; in her spare time, she was a city-wide tennis champion and is the oldest living member of the Forest City Tennis Club. It is only fitting that her legacy live on at the Rockefeller Park tennis courts.”
The courts are also now designated as a historical landmark. The event at Rockefeller Park was free and open to the public.
article courtesy of Newsnet5.com
