Celebrate black culture on June 19 with these garden focused articles and local offerings.

Read more below this letter from Bloedel Reserve President and CEO Ed Moydell.

In recognition of Juneteenth and in the spirit of learning, listening, growing, and honoring, we want to spotlight African American contributions to horticulture and raise awareness about historical issues that shape our region.

Black botanists and horticulturists have contributed to the fields of farming, horticulture, plant breeding, botany, and forestry. While the many contributions of George Washington Carver are generally well known, several other important historical figures are unsung botanical heroes. Recent features in the Detroit News and the Des Moines Botanical Garden spotlight innovators like Edmond Albios (pioneered vanilla orchid pollination and cultivation), Booker T. Watley (innovator in sustainable agriculture, u-pick farms, and CSA’s), Marie Clark Taylor (poet and garden active during the Harlem Renaissance), and Anne Spencer (head of the Howard University Botany Department for 30 years), among others.

Focusing on the future, in 2020 and 2021, our colleagues at Holden Forests & Gardens in Ohio delivered a fascinating eleven-part series entitled, “Growing Black Roots: the Black Botanical Legacy.” Holden described it as “A groundbreaking FREE virtual lecture series highlighting Black Botanists who will inspire others to pursue a career in plants and highlight pathways to diversity and inclusion in botanical sciences.” You can stream the entire series here, as well as download the presentations and lesson plans.

As part of Bloedel Reserve’s Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access initiative, our Staff team is learning more about how historical events have affected people of different races. This work will help us think about how to address barriers and allow people of different backgrounds to better enjoy all the Reserve has to offer. These historic issues are activated when you have a personal connection with the topic. For example, growing up in Tulsa, OK, I didn’t learn about the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre until my early twenties. It wasn’t taught in schools until 2002. I was shocked to learn that such an atrocity happened in my hometown and that most people didn’t know about it. Even our seemingly progressive Puget Sound region is not immune to this. Bainbridge Island was at the center of the 1942 Japanese exclusion. As we began this learning process here at Bloedel Reserve, many of us were dismayed to learn about other chapters of history in the Seattle area. Events such as the 1885 Tacoma Riots (expulsion of the Chinese), along with longtime practices of Racial Covenants in Seattle (discriminatory property rights practices) and the neighborhood segregation of Seattle Sundown Town shaped our area.

As we celebrate this Juneteenth holiday, I’d encourage you to learn more about these and other historic events and the people they affected. There are also a number of local activities coming up noted below that celebrate this important occasion.

With gratitude,
Ed

Edward Moydell
The Richard A. Brown President & CEO
Bloedel Reserve

5 Historic Black Figures in Horticulture
Black Innovators who reshaped American Gardening

Local Events:

Juneteenth Freedom Festival & People’s March, Bremerton
Inaugural Bainbridge Juneteenth Community Celebration, Bainbridge Island
Juneteenth Annual Celebration, Mukai Farm & Garden, Vashon Island
Juneteenth Pop-Up Market, Midtown Square, Seattle

In the spirit of learning, listening, growing, and honoring, we encourage you to educate yourself on the historical issues that affect the human race throughout the world.