Charles Henry Douglass

The following comes from The National Cyclopedia of the Colored Race (vol. 1, 1919) by Clement Richardson, President of Lincoln Institute, Jefferson City, Missouri.

In Macon, Georgia, there is an up to date negro theatre, one of the few negro theatres of any kind to be owned and managed by a Negro. It was built in 1911, with modern appliances. It has a seating capacity of 330 and is sanitary throughout. The enterprise is the work of Charles Henry Douglass. Here the tired housewife, servant or laborer can drop in and enjoy a pleasant hour without embarrassment or discrimination.

Seeing an opportunity for a Negro amusement house in Macon, he leased in 1904, the Ocmulgee Park Theatre, which he operated for two years, when he sold his lease and purchased a lot on Broadway and erected the Colonial Hotel. The building cost $18,000, and is the only piece of property on Broadway to be owned by a Negro. While operating his hotel, Mr. Douglass organized a theatrical company of about thirty-five to forty colored people and traveled with his company through fourteen states, giving performances in many cities, winning favorable patronage which established his reputation and earned him much money. Selling out his interest in the Theatrical Company he added the proceeds to other funds and erected the "Douglass Theatre." This theatre he operates entirely with Negro help. He has the only Negro picture operator permitted to operate a machine in the State of Georgia.

Mr. Douglass was born in Macon, Georgia, in 1870 and reared in comparative poverty, his parents Charles (a former slave born in Virginia) and his mother Ellen Douglass, were very poor. His first job was to peddle light wood and vegetables. He attended public schools in the afternoon. He chopped cotton when he was so small that he had to saw off the handle so that he might wield the hoe. When fourteen years of age he left the cotton patch and went to the city. Here he secured a position as 'buggy boy' for a physician, and secured wages, $6 per month.

This position was held until the death of his father. When his father died the support of his mother and sisters fell upon his shoulders, without flinching he assumed the responsibility and set himself to the task.

When his mother died he remained the devoted brother and supported and looked after the interests of his two sisters until they married and made homes for themselves. He not only supported them but gave them advantages of education.

Another element in his character which helped in his success was his power to discern a need and the grit to venture. If he saw a need it was to him an opportunity and opportunity found in him a willing follower.

Mr. Douglass was married in 1902 to Miss Fannie Appling of Macon, Georgia. Six children make up the Douglass family, Winna, Marsenia, Charles Henry, Jr., Peter, Carro and Lilly. His close attention to business matters did not lessen his interest in his family life. Recently he built an attractive bungalow for his family. It is not surprising that a man who was such a good son and brother should make an ideal husband and father. The importance he felt for the education of his sisters, which he accomplished, under the stress of poverty, he now feels for his children and being in a financial condition to give them a good education he plans to fit them for useful and honorable positions in life. He is a living illustration of what a man with a vision and a strong will can do in brushing aside difficulties to reach his goal.

Wikipedia: The theater was managed by Douglass himself until 1940 when he died. However, the theatre was leased to Benjamin Stein, a white business man for the short period between 1927 and 1929. After Douglass died, his wife and sons ran the theatre until it was closed in 1973. After being latent for several years, the Theatre was saved and renovated by a non-profit group known as "Friends of the Douglass Theatre" in the 1990s. The renovation consisted of the installation of a new heating and cooling system, sound and cinema equipment with surround sound, formats, and state-of-the-art lighting. Additionally new seating was installed and the main annex was rejuvenated. Currently, the theatre is home to the "Macon Film Guild at the Douglass Theatre". It is also home to Met Live in HD, a series of transmissions of live opera from the Metropolitan opera in New York City.