Category: Ale’s Posts

ALEJANDRA BELTRAN

CODE 120

DR. JACK

MC #2

Reading the article called “THE MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN AND SLAVERY” opened my vision as to what is and is not talked about, about slavery in the botanical garden. I am sure that many of us, on the day we had our field trip, had doubts about why there is not a specific place that exposes and tells the stories of the Native Americans and African Americans whom Henry Shaw enslaved.

The article states the following:
Most of what is known about Shaw’s enslaved people comes from archived records that they have such as bills of sale, tax records, census records, newspaper advertisements, and a version of Shaw’s will. There are organizations dedicated to investigating history that have examined these documents before. Knowing this, we can all agree that these documents are of great value for this Project that we are currently undertaking. The stories of these people deserve to be told and although we are lucky to have these documents, there are also cons, such as dealing with a wicked problem that entails not being able to collect as much information as we would like.
Henry Shaw’s interactions were not isolated or hidden, however, this does not excuse Henry Shaw’s actions.
The following document shows a letter written by Henry Shaw after he arrived from England in which he refers to the commitment of Missouri saying: “The present session of the Congress of the United States has admitted Missouri into the Union as a slave state, that It is doubtful that slavery is a benefit to the country.” This statement is perfect for debating among us.

Once again I would like to emphasize that the document we are evaluating mentions that there is not enough information about the people that Henry Shaw owned. It is unfortunate to know that the only information they have is about their name, age, and skin color but there is not a single record of their lived experiences. The daily life and experiences of each of these individuals are unfortunately lost in history and this undoubtedly deserves a moment of reflection as well as giving us motivation to continue working on this Project and at least expose everything to which we have access and a record of.

Peach, Julieta, Bridgette, Coss, Lewis, Jose, Tabita, Sara, and her son, Jim, Esther, and Mary are some names mentioned in the article accompanied by a short description of who they were and what they did. Names that we must keep present and carry positively because I say it again, their stories deserve to be told.

Tax records still preserved in the botanical garden archives indicate that Shaw last owned slaves in 1855, but US census records showed eight people enslaved by Shaw in 1860. The seven women shown in this document are not recorded in their 1850 tax records or the census.

As we have already studied, the Botanical Garden was opened in 1859 but the records do not indicate whether slaves had the task of building the Garden itself.
Finally, the article tells us that the botanical garden is committed to taking advantage of all the documents they have, to tell the stories of those enslaved by Shaw and other marginalized people and groups who helped the Garden become what it is today. It is precisely here that we will take action with the Botanical Garden to reevaluate the signage and display of this topic to give meaning to the term Reparative Justice by making these stories a more prominent part of the visitor experience.

Today I had to analyze the article called “City clears Edwardsville man’s yard deemed out of compliance” published on Sep. 11, 2023, 10:57 a.m. by Penny Weaver through the News Digital Platform called “The Intelligencer”. This Platform informs citizens specifically the residents of Edwardsville and its surrounding areas. Likewise, articles of general interest and news are published at the local, state, national, and international levels.

Penny Weaver is an Award-winning journalist now editor of the Edwardsville, Illinois, newspaper, part of Hearst Newspapers. Communications professional also has used her years of experience in writing, editing, and research as a freelancer. In the last year and a half, also enjoyed sales and excelled from the start. She loves customer service.

She is an experienced leader and editor with demonstrated success in the newspaper and public relations/marketing industries. Skilled in News Writing, Editing, Feature Writing, Journalism, SEO, Social Media Management, Public Relations, Photography, and Copy Editing. Strong media and communications professional with a Bachelor of Arts focused on Journalism from Eastern Illinois University. Minor in Creative Writing.

Despite the property owner’s objections, city personnel intervened in an Edwardsville resident’s yard on September 5 and cleaned the foliage.
Alan Vest was given until August 31 to clean up his yard after losing his appeal regarding ordinance infractions at a municipal hearing on August 3. He didn’t, so city workers filled the gap.

The mayor claims that he also attempted to speak with Alan Vest, the owner of the intervened-in house. He claims that even though he has been directly in charge of the case, Vest has never responded favorably.
He continues to say that he wants to be a part of the city’s pollinator route status, which it received this year. Despite having previously stated that he might file a lawsuit in this regard, he claimed he is unsure about his future move.

This is a tough matter for me because both parties have good points of view and claims. Some regulations must be followed, but there were undoubtedly other steps that could have been taken instead of simply shutting down his entire yard.

Weaver, Penny. City Clears Edwardsville Man’s Yard Deemed out of Compliance, The Edwardsville Intelligencer, 11 Sept. 2023, www.theintelligencer.com/news/article/city- code-violation-leads-forced-yard-clearance-18359352.php fbclid=IwAR2pEl5r8fu3gNM9ALi9RJ0zpjda4i7Yp6pQvLyfSATllXIdErLxj7TZIQQ#tabo ola-3.

ALEJANDRA BELTRAN CODE 120
RESEARCH TEAM
DR. JACK

INTRODUCTION:
During these last few weeks, I have noticed that things are becoming clearer little by little. I’m sure many of us feel the same way. Even though we are still trying to figure out what this adventure is about, our teachers have been putting great effort into giving us the tools that we are going to need when the day of taking action comes. As we have been studying during these past weeks, the problem we are working on is defined as a “Wicked Problem”. Let’s remember that a “Wicked Problem” is defined as a problem, usually social or cultural, that is challenging or impossible to solve either because not enough is understood about the problem, the number of stakeholders involved, the number of varying opinions, the economic burden, or the impact of these problems with other problems. In class, we defined “Wicked Problems” as problems that have a Vague definition, Undefined Solutions, No endpoint, and Irreversible, Unique, and Urgent.

1. VAGUE PROBLEM DEFINITION:
With “Reparative Justice”, “The Botanical Garden” and “Slavery”, being as complex and extensive as they are, it is difficult to define a specific problem, which is why this becomes vague and confusing. We have been studying the meaning of “Reparative Justice” and we are delving into learning a little more about “The Botanical Garden” so we can know where we can take action.

However, our problem is not clearly defined, is grasped and understood. Our

problem is not clearly defined, grasped, and understood.

2. UNDEFINED SOLUTIONS:Here we can clearly unite point number one with point number two. When there is no defined problem, it is even more difficult to define a solution. In order to define a solution we need to look for a specific problem to cover and solve but it would be quite difficult knowing the great background of problems that surround “The Botanical Garden “ in terms of slavery and reparative justice.
3. NO ENDPOINT:
   There are various factors that make it a problem without an endpoint, mainly because it is a problem that has no solution. The project we are currently working on does not have an endpoint because there will always be constant problems that will arise throughout our journey, but also, being a problem that occurred hundreds of years ago, it is impossible to correct or change any of those mistakes that were made. Being a problem without an endpoint, we can count on the fact that there will be many factors that could be against us, just as there will be many that we will have in our favor, but this is quite unpredictable.
4. IRREVERSIBLE:
   At the end of point number three, I accidentally mentioned a little bit of what I wanted to talk about in this point. Since it is a problem that occurred several years ago, it is impossible to go back and fix everything that was damaged or avoid some of the injustices that were committed. It is impossible to go back and avoid

the harm that was committed against all the slaves who worked for Henry Shaw as well as to go back and talk about this issue with everyone who has visited “The Botanical Garden” since it opened to the public.

5. UNIQUE: Our project and its problems are unique, mainly because of the historical background it has. What I mean by this is that there are many botanical gardens around the country but the story behind this one, makes me personally feel that there are stories of people who were involved in this, and those stories should be told. Likewise, it seems like a unique problem to me because I never imagined that this place would have a background like this, and I am sure that thousands of people who have visited this place can agree with me. The beauty and immensity of this place hide very well what is really important to know and stories that are worth telling.
6. URGENT: I know that most of us can interpret this point as an urgency to find a solution, but for me, this means more than that. It means urgency to revoke the ignorance that exists regarding this issue, and the historical background that exists. It is urgent that there are no more people who visit this place without knowing the authors who created this beautiful place with their hands. As the years go by this will become an even more difficult problem to face and it is incredible that this opportunity is presenting itself to us at such an ideal time as it is now. I consider it an ideal moment because there are stories that have been exposed, related to slavery today. There are people who have a great impact on society nowadays, they are talking about this issue and we can use this to our advantage.