by Leslie Lytle, Messenger Staff Writer

Located in the heart of the neighborhood known historically as the St. Mark’s community, the St. Mark’s Grove memorial will celebrate the rich legacy of Sewanee’s black community. The grove will feature treelike structures with a colored-glass canopy casting dappled light and shadow on the walkway, a magical ambiance appropriate to the complex heritage the memorial honors. “We helped build this institution,” said St. Mark’s community member Evelyn Patton. “Our parents did custodial work. They did maid services. But I was allowed to go to college. My brother was allowed to go to college. I still live in the St. Mark’s community. This is big for us. There are only a handful of us still here.”

The memorial resulted from a commitment by the Roberson Project on Slavery, Race, and Reconciliation to create a physical momento to honor African American life and experience in Sewanee — a memorial that could function as a teaching and gathering place to bring together and reconnect the African American community to the campus as a whole. Confronted with a somewhat daunting goal, Roberson Project Director Woody Register conceded, “My approach was to not disbelieve and barge ahead.” Following a tip from a colleague, Register contacted a professor at Viginia Commonwealth University (VCU) and another at Virginia Tech (VT). Dubbed the Sewanee Praises project, a collaboration resulted among the Roberson Project staff, students and faculty at Sewanee, VCU, and VT, and residents and descendants of Sewanee’s historic black St. Mark’s community. Two years later, the “community driven, empathy designed” St. Mark’s Grove memorial reincarnated itself from the ashes of what came before.

“It’s rare to start with nothing,” observed Virginia Tech architect and faculty member Kevin Jones. The memorial will occupy the former site of the all-black Kennerly School, which was torn down as were the other two pillars of black community life, St. Mark’s Church and the Belmont Club. The usual way in design is to “start with something existing” said VCU professor of interior design, Laura Battaglia. For the collaborators, the something existing was to learn and understand the stories of the black community that frequented those vanished places.

VCU and VT Students established relationships with St. Mark’s community members by writing letters and later visiting Sewanee. Bataglia thanked the community for the willingness “to be vulnerable. That’s where the truth lies.” Common iconic themes immerged — circular formations, trees, the Cross, and color. When the preliminary designs were ready for viewing, members of the St. Mark’s community travelled to Virginia to offer insight and make recommendations. Revising and further revisioning followed.

Landscaped with hydrangea, dogwood and blackberry, St. Mark’s Grove will offer visitors two gateways, one from Georgia Avenue and one from the Mountain Goat Trail. Beneath the colored-glass canopy with enchanting glass-bottle windchimes whispering, visitors can browse a memorial wall naming the former and current residents of the St. Mark’s community, ponder quotes inscribed in the pathway illuminated by pillars of light, or simply sit and chat, or perhaps, simply sit quietly and reflect.

A 3-D model of the final design can be viewed at duPont Library. Next comes fundraising and construction, said Register.

A VCU student confessed, “I didn’t know what I signed up for. This has been one of the best experiences of my life.”

John Patton, who recently moved back to the St. Mark’s community after a 40-year career in Nashville, praised the students-led effort. “You were here for a purpose and made a difference for people you’ve never seen and people you will never see who will come beyond your living days. To come up with an idea working together that’s pleasing to everyone shows somebody cares.”