On this last visit to the Botanical Garden, many questions arose in addition to the desire to find a clear and concise answer for each of them.

My experience visiting the basement of Tower Grove House was too shocking for me. Upon entering this place, I expected to find answers, 

but it only generated more questions.

  • Who oversaw the information that was displayed when the basement was open to the public?
  • Who approved the information, artifacts, and distribution of photos that are in the basement?

Even though there was information displayed, there was a lot of information that was being hidden, and irrelevant information was being exposed. This gave me a feeling of frustration and the atmosphere felt highly mysterious.

Some stories never left this place, some freedoms were deprived, stories were silenced, stories that were far from feeling like a reality, feel false and vague because there are not many records of where to find the absolute truth, and yet, this information that we do have is blurred and softened so it doesn’t disturb the public.

1. Shawn, when we were in the basement, told us that one of the main reasons why this place was closed was due to the lack of information there was, out of respect for those stories that were not being told, and because of not knowing how to address this information.

2. The day we visited the place for the first time, the person in charge of giving the Tour told us that the basement was closed because it was under construction, and they were repairing it. FAKE.

3. In these 2 times that we have attended, I have not seen a single person of color who is part of the program or working with us at the Botanical Garden. 

4. There are first-hand documents that we saw, and you can clearly see that they were modified or certain information was added.

5. Certain documents belonging to Henry Shaw were sent to Harvard for analysis and are back in the Botanical Garden, but were they all returned?

6. If those documents were analyzed at Harvard, there must be some information that we may have access to if we can contact them.

7. Should we see going to the basement and learning more about real plants as a priority or would it be worth investing time on it? How does it benefit us to know about plants? Is there any record of what plants were the main ones that slaves had contact with? What were the first plantations that the slaves took charge of?

8. There are movements like BLM that we can contact to acquire a little knowledge and help on how we can address the public that visits the MOBOT and how to make the information known.

  1. Patrisse Cullors: I am an artist, abolitionist, and writer. It’s my mission to invite all of us to grow toward abolition through intergenerational healing work that centers on love and collective care. My creative practice is building a world that promotes and protects human dignity and joy through Black art and creativity. I am invested in the redistribution of resources to promote collective care. https://patrissecullors.com/connect/
  • Alicia believes that Black communities deserve what all communities deserve — to be powerful in every aspect of their lives. An innovator, strategist, organizer, and cheeseburger enthusiast, Alicia founded the Black Futures Lab to make Black communities powerful in politics. She is the co-creator of #BlackLivesMatter and the Black Lives Matter Global Network, the Strategy and partnerships Director for the National Domestic Workers Alliance, and the co-founder of Supermajority, she shares her thoughts on politics and pop culture on her podcast, Lady Don’t Take No. Alicia warns you: hashtags don’t start movements — people do.

https://aliciagarza.com/contact/

  • Opal Tometi: She has been active in social movements for nearly 20 years and is widely known for her role as a co-founder of Black Lives Matter and her years of service as the Executive Director of the United States first national immigrant rights organization for people of African descent – the Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI). contact@ayotometi.org
  • NAACP: We work to disrupt inequality, dismantle racism, and accelerate change in key areas including criminal justice, health care, education, climate, and the economy. When it comes to civil rights and social justice, we have the unique ability to secure more wins than anyone else. Help make racial equity a reality. (410)-580-5777

I found an African-American quote, while I was doing my research for this Source Analysis. From now on, we should keep this in mind.

“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”