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The Transgender Memorial Garden is a memorial to transgender people killed by anti-LGBTQ violence. It is located at 2800 Wyoming Street (at California Ave) in the Benton Park West neighborhood of St. Louis, Missouri.
It was formerly located at 1469 S. Vandeventer Avenue (at Hunt Ave) in The Grove neighborhood of St. Louis, Missouri. The former site of the memorial was planted with native Missouri trees and wildflowers and was created by volunteers in October and November 2015. The purpose of the memorial is to provide a space to mourn the loss of transgender people to violence and celebrate transgender lives. According to Jaimie Hileman, then board president of the St. Louis Metro Trans Umbrella Group (MTUG), the "garden serves both as a reminder of those whom we've lost and also as a very living and tangible symbol of hope in our city that tomorrow will be better days." [1] It is believed to be the first memorial garden in the United States dedicated to the memory of transgender people.
The idea for the Transgender Memorial Garden first occurred to local chef, restaurateur, and drag performer Leon Braxton, Jr. (aka "Dieta Pepsi") who saw a Facebook post by Lewis E. Reed, president of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen, encouraging citizens to plant trees in neighborhood gathering spaces to create spaces of reflection as part of the second annual "Plant4PeaceSTL" event. Modeled after Nobel Laureate Wangari Maathai's Green Belt Movement, Plant4PeaceSTL encourages St. Louisans to plant trees to create a sense of unity, cohesion, encourage health, promote social equity, and spur economic development. It connects the disappearance of trees with other, larger social problems and engages citizens in creative local solutions. [2] Trees for Plant4PeaceSTL were donated by Forest ReLeaf of Missouri. Reed's post encouraged St. Louisans to plants trees in public places to create spaces of reflection, memory, and contemplation. [3]
Braxton thought Plant4PeaceSTL would be a good project for the St. Louis transgender community and he contacted the Aldermanic President's office to explore the idea. "I thought the #Plant4Peace project would be a great opportunity to support our St. Louis transgender community and those we have lost with a memorial or reflection park…so I contacted Reed's office about my wild idea just to see if it was even possible." [4] A vacant lot was identified in The Grove neighborhood, a burgeoning area of restaurants, clubs, and LGBT nightlife. In an interview with local radio Braxton said, "I want people to think about how beautiful the space is and how peaceful. I want people to think of trans people as just normal, everyday people where they can enjoy life and not live in such fear." [5]
Braxton's idea came to the attention of Jarek Steele, co-owner of local independent bookstore Left Bank Books and member of the Metro Trans Umbrella Group. The triangular site at the corner of Vandeventer and Hunt Avenues was owned by the City of St. Louis and a neighborhood business, which gave permission for the Memorial. At the apex of the triangular lot was a butterfly garden planted by Mission St. Louis but not well maintained. Steele identified a garden designer and organized volunteers who cleared the site and planted the Garden. [6] [7]
The Memorial was designed by Monte Abbott, a Missouri Master Gardener and local St. Louisan. Abbott's design philosophy aims to balance a site's microclimate with its socio-cultural purpose. Before planting, the Garden's soil consisted of construction fill from previous condemned buildings on the site, covered by a thin layer of rock, gravel, topsoil, grass, and weeds. The site is windy, well-drained, and slopes downhill toward the north. Accordingly, Abbott chose trees and plants that could withstand such conditions and survive with less care.
The original plan for the Memorial specified a row of Eastern Redbud ( Cercis canadensis ) trees running diagonally (southwest to northeast) along Vandeventer Avenue. A bed of Missouri native perennial wildflowers was planned for a triangular bed at the corner of Vandeventer and Hunt Aves. The plan also called for five rows of Hackberry ( Celtis occidentalis ) trees running diagonally (southeast to northwest) perpendicular to Vandeventer Ave and the row of Redbuds. Small groups of Devil's Walkingstick ( Aralia spinosa ) were planned for the northwest and northeast corners of the site. Irregular beds of native perennial wildflowers were planned for the western, northern, and eastern edges of the Memorial. A curvilinear path was planned to run from Hunt Avenue south, terminating in a circle at the center of the Memorial.
The design's repetition of linear rows of trees aims to create a sense of harmony though repetition. Specific trees and plants were selected as allegories of the trans experience: rare, overlooked, and aesthetically unconventional. Native perennials were selected to attract butterflies: whose life-course transition symbolizes the transgender experience. Redbuds can be rather plain small, ornamental trees in summer but are highly prized for their butter-yellow fall foliage and spectacular display of magenta flowers in early spring. Hackberry trees have bark not always considered beautiful, but produce berries that support a wide array of birds and other wildlife in winter. Devil's Walkingstick is a large shrub or small tree having stems spiked with large thorns but a canopy topped with beautiful white flowers in mid-spring. Hackberry and Aralia are undervalued plants and rarely used in conventional domestic gardens and commercial landscaping. The original design called for nine Redbud trees, 17 Hackberry trees, and six Aralias.
The Memorial was planted by 65 volunteers on the morning of October 18, 2015. [8] After mowing and weeding, the original site consisted mostly of grass and weeds, with three ornamental crabapple ( Malus ) trees and a number of raised perennial beds toward the northeast corner of the site. Volunteers pruned the existing trees and mulched the beds before planting with new trees and wildflowers. They also cleared turf and weeds and outlined a curvilinear path running from Hunt Avenue, south to the center of the Memorial.
At the center of the wood-chip path volunteers placed a small pile of stones that were dug up when the Memorial was planted. Smaller stones unearthed in planting were used to line pathways and flower beds. During the Memorial's dedication, the reuse of the site's material was described by Metro Trans Umbrella Group executive director Sayer Johnson as symbolic of the transformation that occurs in transgender people's lives—from gender assigned at birth to lived gender.
A wooden sign for the Garden was created by Jarek Steele, an active member of MTUG and co-owner of Left Bank Books. The front of the sign is inscribed with the words "Transgender Memorial Garden Est. 2015" and the phrase, "They tried to bury us. They didn't know we were seeds." The source of this phrase is the writings of the Macedonian poet Dinos Christianopoulos. [9] [10] The sign is located at the northern edge of the Memorial facing onto Hunt Avenue.
Three benches were later donated by local St. Louis individuals and LGBTQ-owned business. [11]
The Transgender Memorial Garden was dedicated during a ceremony held at dusk on November 20, 2015. November 20 is the Transgender Day of Remembrance that commemorates transgender individuals who have lost their lives to violence. A number of local activists, musical artists, and clergy addressed a crowd of about 50. Prominent transgender activists, scholars, and celebrities were also in attendance, including Kate Bornstein, Jennifer Finney Boylan, Candis Cayne, and Caitlyn Jenner. The dedication was filmed for the E! Entertainment television network's reality series I Am Cait , starring Jenner. The episode featuring the Memorial aired in the U.S. March 27, 2016. The dedication was followed by a march through The Grove neighborhood led by the Queer and Trans People of Color (QTPOC) organization, and a memorial service at the Metropolitan Community Church of Greater St. Louis. [12] [13] [14]
On the evening of June 12, 2016, the Memorial was the terminus of a march and site of a vigil for victims of the mass shooting that occurred in the early morning hours of that day at Pulse gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida. A crowd estimated at 3000 people marched from the corner of Sarah Street and Manchester Avenue in The Grove neighborhood to the Garden. A candlelight vigil and rally occurred with speakers from the local St. Louis LGBTQ community, faith leaders, and politicians, and a performance by the Gateway Men's Chorus. [15] [16] In the days following the march and vigil, visitors to the Memorial left flowers, religious mementos, notes, and signs as tokens of remembrance.
A vigil was held at the garden in the evening of August 23, 2017, in memory of Kiwi Herring, a transgender woman of color shot to death by police in north St. Louis. She was reportedly the 18th transgender person killed in 2017. [17] Following the vigil, mourners marched in the streets and held an intersection of The Grove. The memorial gathering was disrupted when a black Mercedes accelerated into the crowd and hit at least three people. [18] Driver Mark Calao was arrested following a police chase. [19]
Sackville Gardens is a public space in Manchester, England. It is bounded by Manchester College's Shena Simon Campus on one side and Whitworth Street, Sackville Street, the Rochdale Canal and Canal Street on the others.
Tower Grove Park is a municipal park in St. Louis, Missouri. Located on the south side of the city, the elongated 289-acre (117 ha) park extends 1.6 miles (2.6 km) from Kingshighway Boulevard east to Grand Boulevard. The park’s predominately residential surroundings include the neighborhoods of Southwest Garden, Shaw, Tower Grove East, and Tower Grove South.
The Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDoR), also known as the International Transgender Day of Remembrance, has been observed annually from its inception on November 20 to memorialize those who have been murdered as a result of transphobia. The day was founded to draw attention to the continued violence directed toward transgender people.
Klehm Arboretum & Botanic Garden is a nonprofit arboretum and botanical garden located at 2715 South Main Street, Rockford, Illinois.
Lafayette Square is a neighborhood in St. Louis, Missouri, which is bounded on the north by Chouteau Avenue, on the south by Interstate 44, on the east by Truman Parkway, and on the west by South Jefferson Avenue. It surrounds Lafayette Park, which is the city's oldest public park — created by local ordinance in 1836.
St. Louis is located at 38°38′53″N90°12′44″W.
Shaw is a neighborhood in St. Louis, Missouri. It is bordered on the North by Interstate 44, the east by S. Grand Blvd, the west by Tower Grove Ave and the Missouri Botanical Gardens, and the south by Tower Grove Park. The Shaw Neighborhood is a local historic district whose historic structure and character is protected by ordinance.
College Hill is a neighborhood of the City of St. Louis, Missouri. The name College Hill was given to this area because it was the location of the Saint Louis University College Farm. This area, bounded generally by Warne Ave., O'Fallon Park, I-70, Grand Boulevard, and W. Florissant Ave., was acquired by the University for garden and recreation purposes in 1836. It was subdivided in the early 1870s.
Dutchtown is a neighborhood of St. Louis, Missouri. It is called "Dutch" from Deutsch, i.e., "German", as it was the southern center of German-American settlement in St. Louis in the early 19th century. It was the original site of Concordia Seminary, Concordia Publishing House, Lutheran Hospital, and other German community organizations. The German Cultural Society still has its headquarters there. St Anthony of Padua Catholic Church towers over the neighborhood and is a symbol of the neighborhood.
Forest Park Southeast (FPSE) is a neighborhood of St. Louis, Missouri. It is bordered by Interstate 64 (U.S. Route 40) to the north, Vandeventer Avenue to the east, Interstate 44 to the south, and Kingshighway Boulevard and Forest Park to the west. Adjoining neighborhoods include Kings Oak and The Hill to the west, Southwest Garden to the south, Botanical Heights to the southeast, Midtown to the east, and the Central West End to the north.
Botanical Heights is a neighborhood of St. Louis, Missouri. Its former name was McRee Town. The Botanical Heights neighborhood is defined by Chouteau Avenue on the North, Interstate 44 on the South, 39th Street on the East and Vandeventer Avenue on the West. This near Southside neighborhood is located just north of the Shaw neighborhood.
Southwest Garden is a neighborhood of St. Louis, Missouri, located south of The Hill and Forest Park Southeast, west of the Missouri Botanical Garden and Tower Grove Park, east of Lindenwood Park and Clifton Heights, and north of North Hampton.
Vandeventer is a neighborhood of St. Louis, Missouri. The area is bounded by Dr. Martin Luther King Drive on the North, Delmar Boulevard on the South, Vandeventer Avenue on the East, and Newstead Avenue on the West.
John Lawrence Mauran, FAIA (1866–1933) was an American architect responsible for many downtown landmarks in St. Louis, Missouri. He was also active in Wisconsin and Texas.
The streets of St. Louis, Missouri, United States, and the surrounding area of Greater St. Louis are under the jurisdiction of the City of St. Louis Street Department. According to the department's Streets Division, there are 1,000 miles (1,600 km) of streets and 600 miles (970 km) of alleys within the city.
The Grove is a business district located along Manchester Avenue between Kingshighway Boulevard and Vandeventer Avenue in the Forest Park Southeast (FPSE) neighborhood of St. Louis, Missouri. Formerly known as the Manchester Strip, the retail drag was first developed in the late 19th century to serve the working-class population of Forest Park Southeast. Today, the Grove is home to a variety of restaurants, bars, and clubs, including a significant number of LGBT-oriented establishments. The district is supported by a community improvement district (CID), created in 2009, which levies an additional sales tax on businesses within its boundaries to fund infrastructure and branding services.
PrideFest St. Louis is an annual LGBT pride event in St. Louis, Missouri. The event is organized by Pride St. Louis, an LGBT non-profit organization in the Greater St. Louis area. Between 350,000-500,000 people attend the two day festival and grand parade.
Sparkle - the national transgender charity based in the United Kingdom that is best known for organising the annual Sparkle Weekend in Manchester, which aims to celebrate the transgender community. The event claims to be the world's largest transgender event.
Leelah Alcorn was an American transgender girl whose suicide attracted international attention; she had posted a suicide note to her Tumblr blog about societal standards affecting transgender people and expressing the hope that her death would create a dialogue about discrimination, abuse, and lack of support for transgender people.
LGBT culture in St. Louis is characterized by a long history of progressive activism as well as racial divisions and the city/county divide. St. Louis city is relatively liberal with multiple gayborhoods and several LGBT organizations. In 2019, Realtor.com dubbed St. Louis the 8th most LGBT-friendly city. Due to hostile legislation at the state level, however, it has become common for LGBT residents to relocate to Illinois for better protections and healthcare access.
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