The City of Columbus will have the very first community park dedicated to social justice in 2018. This new green space will be part of the creative Campus area is the Discovery District that includes the Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus College of Art and Design and the campus of Columbus State. The First Congregation Church, United Church of Christ bought the land. The church has a long history of advocating for racial equality, tolerance, workers’ rights, and among many other societal issues, the right to clean drinking water. The church’s heritage is the reason why the new park will be a social justice park. First Congregational Church was established as an abolitionist church. It can trace fighting for equal rights all the way back to its beginnings in 1852. The Social Justice Park will be a place where the community can contemplate, reflect and talk about issues in our country and society. PFW’s grant will help enable a monumental sculpture to be created and to be one of the focal points of the park. This will be a green oasis on the corner of East Broad Street and Cleveland Avenue. It will be a safe haven as well as a starting point for all to help build a path to a better future. It will be a place where the community can intentionally come and journey together to learn, to engage, to change, and to bring justice to situations that cannot be ignored.
image by Tom Worley
