Seattle parks department plans memorial to 'commemorate the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests'

( Post Millennial )

The Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation is working on an art installation to “commemorate the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests” in the park that was at the center of the deadly 2020 autonomous zone. There were four shootings and two fatalities in the protest and the city facing an almost $300 million budget gap.

A spokesperson for the parks department told the Capitol Hill Seattle Blog that it is working on a plan to create a new art installation in Cal Anderson Park in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood “to commemorate the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests, honor Seattle’s Black and BIPOC communities, and memorialize those lost to gun violence.” The new project will reportedly be near the Black Lives Matter mural on E. Pine St.

According to the spokesperson, “This space will be co-created with input from the community, ensuring that those most impacted by the events and themes of this installation have a voice in its creation,” a park spokesperson tells CHS. “Through this collective process, we aim to provide a space for reflection, solidarity, and continued advocacy for racial justice.”

The blog reported that the city is working on a contract with an arts group, Vivid Matters Collective, to “conduct community engagement, and “work with community and artists to design an installation in Cal Anderson Park.” The group was responsible for maintaining the Black Lives Matter mural on E Pine that was created by activists during the 2020 unrest.

Artist Takiyah Ward told the blog that the project is currently in an “incubation” phase while “undergoing extreme revisions on how we operate in an evolving creative society.”

The parks’ spokesperson said the art memorial for the deadly autonomous zone doesn’t have a budget yet but, “Once we have some concepts together which will be developed with community engagement, we will work on estimates to inform the budget and apply for grants. We haven’t set a budget yet because we don’t have any dedicated funding.” The spokesperson added, “Funding will be sought in the future through grants and other opportunities.”

The project follows the 2023 removal of the so-called Black Lives Memorial Garden, one of the last remaining relics from the armed occupation of six blocks of Seattle. After activists balked that the city was removing the unsanctioned garden, the city attempted to placate the radicals to memorialize the autonomous zone. The park's spokesperson added, “We have shopped the idea around on several occasions over the past few years and have not heard a lot of support because of the high rate of vandalism.”

Following the death of George Floyd, rioters protested against officers at the Seattle Police Department’s East Precinct. Following over a week of protests and riots, Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan and Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best ordered the precinct be evacuated so it could be turned over “to the community.”

Rioters used barricades left behind by police to create the 6-block Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ), which was later renamed the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest (CHOP), where, for almost a month, armed Antifa and BLM activists acted as security and prohibited police from entering the area.

Seattle has settled or is in litigation over millions of dollars in claims as a result of the zone, including with the families of victims who were killed in the zone and businesses that were impacted by the occupation. According to one of the suits, “The State of Washington acknowledged the danger of this zone and were plainly aware that harm may result of this. Rape, robbery, murder, arson, theft, extortion, and burglary all occurred in this zone at exceedingly high rates. In fact, crime levels soared by one hundred percent during the encampment’s existence with the City of Seattle’s police department abandoning their police precinct.”

Last month, a letter was sent by the attorney for the father of a black teen killed in the deadly 2020 autonomous zone to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, officially requesting a congressional inquiry into his son’s death.