Arts in the Park: A Juneteenth reflection on Breathing New Life into Public Spaces — namely Fourth Bluff Park
Now a national holiday, Juneteenth (June 19) has been celebrated in some areas of our great nation since 1865. The holiday marks the day, several weeks after the Civil War had ended, in which many historians now deem as the “end of slavery.” It’s the day more than 2,000 Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, TX, and declared that more than 250,000 black slaves in the state were now free by executive decree.
So, slavery didn’t end when Abraham Lincoln singed the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863? No…
It didn’t end at the close of the Civil War in April 1865? Not really…
It’s safe to say there’s a lot of research and personal study we all might need to do regarding the history (of slavery, and so much more) we learned in grade school.
Growing up in Memphis, I never celebrated or even heard about Juneteenth. Ironically, it wasn’t until I spent my first summer in Boston during my college years that I learned of its significance and celebrated with friends who’d celebrated our people’s freedom for years.
Fast forward to 1993 when I was in high school and Memphis, now the largest Black-majority city in the U.S., held its first official Juneteenth celebration in what is now known as Health Sciences Park. The park’s name was changed in 2013, four years before a statue of Nathan Bedford Forrest, leader of the Confederacy and the Ku Klux Klan, was removed in 2017.
In the same way, the former “Confederate Park,” now known as Fourth Bluff Park, was home to a statue of former President Jefferson Davis and other Civil War memorabilia, like replica cannons and other historical markers. When the statues were removed in August of 2018, one could feel the spirits of patriarchy, intimidation and racism lift and those of freedom, equality and togetherness rush in. That’s what Fourth Bluff Park symbolizes today.
New Park, Who’s This (Who Dis)?
After the removal of the statues, and renaming the park, the Partnership went to work with local Memphis and other national artists and art organizations to explore ways to reimagine Fourth Bluff Park and make it a safe haven for our community members. One of the first offerings in the NEW Fourth Bluff Park was the “Peace Project,” led by actor Bertram Williams, Jr., artist Talibah Safia, and producer Ralph Calhoun.
The Peace Project was a soundscape project whereby artists created ambient melodies, reverberations, and nature recordings exclusively for the soundscape. These soothing auditory offerings enveloped the park and deemed it a space for peace, calm, reflection and healing throughout the day for months for those who came to experience it.
A few months later, the park hosted its first art exhibition with sculptures by African American artist Hank Willis Thomas installed in collaboration with Tri-Star Arts. His colorful sculptures “Harriet and Annie” and “Ernest and Ruth” provided a fun backdrop for park visitors to take selfies and hang out. Willis Thomas says the sculptures were inspired by truth, and with them he hoped to create a space for people to live in their truth.
One of my favorite moments of interaction with these sculptures was the integration of another public art form, ballet. Collage Dance Collective performed “Springtime in Autumn” and the sculptures were completely immersed into their art display.
With Memphis being a music city, there had to be music in the park. Thanks to Memphis Slim Collaboratory’s “Soulin’ on the River” concert series, hosted together with Downtown Memphis Commission, community members and visitors alike had an opportunity to experience the best of Memphis music, on the river, for free, with hundreds of new friends.
(By the way, if you haven’t experienced a Grizzlies Playoffs Watch Party in Fourth Bluff Park, you are really missing out. It is, by far, one of the most beautiful displays of unity, camaraderie, community and love that our city has ever seen. Art, music, sports — they tend to bring people together. #GoGrizz)
And now, through the first week in July, another Hank Willis Thomas sculpture, “All Power to All People” is proudly displayed in Fourth Bluff Park. If you are black, and maybe even white, this sculpture breeds nostalgia and transports you back to the 70s when your family members had that black fist pick that suspended their afros into the air, defying gravity, just right. Talk about a full circle moment.
If you haven’t seen All Power to All People, get down to Fourth Bluff Park before the sculpture leaves us and heads to another city.
Earlier this month, the family of the late Tyre Nichols celebrated his birthday in Fourth Bluff Park, and his family and friends integrated the sculpture into their special day.
This past weekend, local curator Cynthia Daniels held two festivals in Fourth Bluff Park. The Juneteenth Shop Black Festival and Memphis Vegan Festival, where ALL were invited to attend, put black culture on display and was a perfect economic freedom celebration for Juneteenth.
Public spaces in Memphis have always been open to everyone but sadly, they weren’t always inviting. Now, that’s changed, and it’s safe to say, things will never return to the way they were. Not on our watch.
Stay tuned for more of the same, in Tom Lee Park, opening Labor Day weekend this year.
