Abstract
The topic of spatial justice offers a good platform to examine socio-economic imbalances that still exist in some Boston neighborhoods, such as Roxbury, which has a history of underdevelopment, redlining, food insecurity, and other socio-economic challenges. It also presents a chance for the execution and examination of community-led projects and initiatives that can show how locally owned projects can strengthen community ownership, underpin the preservation of cultural heritage and identity, and offer fresh examples of social participation in community development. The Black Panther Commemoration Installation at the Winthrop Gardens in Roxbury, which was conceptualized and created through the local community social participation, will be the subject of this case study's critical analysis. The author, students at Northeastern University, local fabricators, community neighborhood association, local municipal funders and nonprofit organizations collaborated to create the Winthrop Garden installation, which celebrates the work of the Black Panthers of the Boston chapter.
Keywords
social participation; community-led; socioeconomic; cultural heritage
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2024.661
Citation
Killion Mokwete, H. (2024) Reimagining public spaces through translating cultural & heritage narratives into public art-Lessons from Roxbury’s Black Panther commemoration community garden & art mural project, in Gray, C., Ciliotta Chehade, E., Hekkert, P., Forlano, L., Ciuccarelli, P., Lloyd, P. (eds.), DRS2024: Boston, 23–28 June, Boston, USA. https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2024.661
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Conference Track
Research Paper
Included in
Reimagining public spaces through translating cultural & heritage narratives into public art-Lessons from Roxbury’s Black Panther commemoration community garden & art mural project
The topic of spatial justice offers a good platform to examine socio-economic imbalances that still exist in some Boston neighborhoods, such as Roxbury, which has a history of underdevelopment, redlining, food insecurity, and other socio-economic challenges. It also presents a chance for the execution and examination of community-led projects and initiatives that can show how locally owned projects can strengthen community ownership, underpin the preservation of cultural heritage and identity, and offer fresh examples of social participation in community development. The Black Panther Commemoration Installation at the Winthrop Gardens in Roxbury, which was conceptualized and created through the local community social participation, will be the subject of this case study's critical analysis. The author, students at Northeastern University, local fabricators, community neighborhood association, local municipal funders and nonprofit organizations collaborated to create the Winthrop Garden installation, which celebrates the work of the Black Panthers of the Boston chapter.