Seattle Parks and Recreation plans to remove a community garden that was originally planted in Cal Anderson Park as part of 2020’s Black Lives Matter protests. But the group that stewards the garden, Black Star Farmers, is rallying community members to save it.
The timing is unclear. Last week, a Parks Department official told Black Star Farmers the work might start this Friday, according to the group. On Tuesday, a department spokesperson indicated there could be slightly more time.
The Parks Department says the Black Lives Memorial Garden must be removed “to support larger community uses” at the park, which was part of the Capitol Hill Organized Protest zone where activists gathered for several weeks in June 2020. The garden is located in Cal Anderson’s “Sun Bowl” area, which is one of few spaces in the park that’s appropriate to host gatherings and large events, spokesperson Rachel Schulkin said in an email Tuesday.
The Black Star Farmers says the garden honors Black and Indigenous people killed by police and speaks to Seattle’s history of occupation protests led by poor and working-class queer people of color. The garden has also been a source of joy and healing for many Capitol Hill community members, including renters without much access to green space, the group said. Most of the plants there today are perennial, native plants that have been thriving for years, and the garden provides free food and herbal medicine, the group said.
