Skyway's 'Black Panther Park' Grows From Food Justice to Freedom Art

https://southseattleemerald.org/community/2025/11/04/skyways-black-panther-park-grows-from-food-justice-to-freedom-art

Skyway's 'Black Panther Park' Grows From Food Justice to Freedom Art

Lauryn Bray
Published on:
Nov 04, 2025, 1:48 pm

Construction for a new community park in Skyway honoring Seattle's Black Panther Party is underway and expected to conclude by spring 2026. Located at the corner of 75 Avenue South and Renton Avenue South, the unofficially named Black Panther Park will showcase art designed by local artists such as Ari Glass, double as a community garden and herb pantry, and serve as a cultural incubator and communal space for Skyway residents of all generations.

"It's a you-pick-a-fruit spot — fruit, herbs, everything," said Jake Harris, owner of Stone Soup Gardens, a residential design and installation company. In addition to community-based projects like neighborhood gardens, Stone Soup Gardens has partnered with schools, businesses, and private residents to develop rain gardens, cisterns, raised vegetable beds, patios, chicken coops, and more.

"When we first identified this space and were working with community here, they wanted a food space. And when we said, 'Hey, this park doesn't have a name. Who could we name it after?' That's when Black Panther Park emerged," explained Harris. "Folks were like, 'Well, free food — they started the National Breakfast Program,' and so that kind of just launched the whole idea of making [the park] a living tribute to the Black Panthers as well as a community food source."

Nyema Clark, founder and director of Nurturing Roots Farm, said the project has been in the making for nearly eight years. "There's a little bit of bureaucracy we still have to approach [regarding] the naming of the park," explained Clark. "Right now it's still considered a piece of Skyway Park, so hopefully in February, we'll get a unanimous vote through King County Council to name it Black Panther Park."

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