A new garden coming to Martin Luther King Jr. Civil Rights Memorial Park promises more than the usual grass and greenery.
The MLK Memorial Garden Development Project looks to create a healing space that honors Seattle’s Black community and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy, while memorializing lives lost to gun violence, according to Seattle Parks and Recreation.
The public’s voice plays a key role in the project, said Jordan Hoy, a planning and development specialist at SPR.
“We want to make sure that whatever we build moving forward reflects the character of the community,” Hoy said.
Ideas are welcome, and Seattle has partnered with four organizations to bring the garden to life — the Black Agriculture Leadership Council, the NAACP, Clean Greens Farm & Market and Solace, a local grief support group. A Planting Party Meet ‘n’ Greet at 11 a.m. Saturday welcomes Clean Greens’ youth program as they plant planters in the space, while at a July 12 event at the park, the public can share ideas for the new garden, Hoy said.
Research supports implementing urban gardens. A 2022 study analyzing 301 U.S. cities found that areas with more green space had less property crime and violent crime risk.
The Seattle Park District has $150,000 in public money to spend on the garden’s planning and concept design, according to SPR. The department is seeking additional funding for further design development and construction, Hoy added. Construction is tentatively scheduled for 2027.
The memorial garden project’s roots go back years.
In December 2023, the city removed the Black Lives Matter Memorial Garden — planted during the 2020 Black Lives Matter and CHOP/CHAZ protest — from Cal Anderson Park on Capitol Hill, citing unsafe conditions in and around the space.
When Margo Jones, a community leader and business owner, heard the news, she proposed moving the garden to the MLK park, at 2200 Martin Luther King Jr. Way S. And from there, the project “just manifested,” Jones said.
Last June, Mayor Bruce Harrell and other community stakeholders gathered at the park to commemorate the new memorial garden. Top of mind was the devastating fallout of gun violence — Amarr Murphy-Paine, 17, had been shot and killed at nearby Garfield High School just a day before the garden commemoration.
Jonathan Jones-Thomas, founding member and CEO of the Black Agriculture Leadership Council — as well as a lifelong Seattle resident — said when he learned about the project, he had to get involved.
“This is a community effort, grassroots, by people who live in the community,” he said. “Historically, from a colonization perspective, people from the community don’t make the decisions on how (it) is designed.”
One of the organizations involved in the design process is Solace, which hosts monthly walks to help grieving community members reflect, connect and heal. Jenine Lewis, mother of Elijah Lewis — the 23-year-old Seattle activist shot and killed in 2023 — founded Solace after her son’s passing.
“This garden means everything to me,” Lewis said of the incoming green space.
She remembered her son as a person who brought people together from different backgrounds and listened to them, adding that the memorial garden brought that vision forward.
“It’s kind of like bringing a piece of him, along with a piece of each one of our family legacies together,” Lewis said.
Another partner is Clean Greens Farm & Market, a local nonprofit farm that makes organic produce accessible, provides food education and more. It’s also a program under Black Dollar Days Task Force, which promotes economic empowerment in the Black community.
The nonprofit’s director, Brione Scott, said she envisions the memorial garden growing healthful produce like greens, cabbage, kale and fruit.
“We can’t erase the pain, but we can build a space where families can come and connect with others through talking, through food, through getting back to connecting with the earth,” Scott said.
Following Saturday’s event, the city will reveal an initial, interim “Phase 1 Garden” on July 12 at 11 a.m., where it will collect community input for the permanent space. Next steps include more engagement with the public, fundraising and grant applications, according to the city’s timeline.
Jones said she appreciates the opportunity to work with the city on a project “so helpful and needed in our community.”
“This is a place of peace, of bonding, and a place where we call a sanctuary for us all to find solace in,” she said.