Garden in the Wake
Back in July, Black-Owned Brooklyn partnered with Awesome Foundation NYC — which gives $1,000 to a NYC project every month — to support the work of a Black, Brooklyn-based creator. Today we’re thrilled to announce the winner: Garden in the Wake, a community garden for Black trans, non-binary and queer people.
Garden in the Wake was founded by Morgen Bromell (left) and Justina Walker this spring, and the team hopes to grow a first harvest of spinach, cabbage and other cool-weather crops for the fall. With Black queer and trans people facing high rates of violence and marginalization, they conceived the formerly unused lot as a haven of community and celebration for people who are often regarded solely in terms of tragedy and crisis.
“We deserve beauty, too; not just having our needs met,” says Morgen, 28, who is non-binary. “We want this to be a space that is safe and affirming, with things that all people want: beautiful design, wonderful flowers, and things that look and feel welcoming, warm and loving.”
Located in Bed-Stuy near the Rockaway train station (for safety reasons, we’re not publicly disclosing the address), the garden will also serve the utilitarian purpose of growing and sharing food as a community. “At the start of the pandemic, my local grocery store simply didn’t have fruits and vegetables,” says Morgen, who has lived in the neighborhood for 10 years and has been gardening since childhood. “My neighbors have food insecurity. So think what it could look like to have access to food that allows us to feel good and live longer lives.”
Garden in the Wake will be open to the community, with membership based on commitment and participation. “We want people to feel like, ‘There’s something I can take from this,’” says Morgen. “But also, ‘There’s something I can bring to it.’”
“We deserve beauty, too; not just having our needs met.”
To build up Garden in the Wake, they’re using the Awesome Foundation NYC x Black-Owned Brooklyn microgrant toward supplies including soil, tools and security cameras, as well as paying a carpenter to help build benches, plant beds and shelves for a lending library.
“In Brooklyn, the majority of gardens are run by older, cis, straight people, and a few of us have felt intimidated or been pushed out of these spaces,” Morgen says. Although other people are welcome in Garden in the Wake, its founders are explicit about centering Black trans, non-binary and queer folk. “It means that we uplift our needs and wants first.”
In addition to growing crops, the garden plans to host food tutorials and provide a rest space. “For those who, whether because of interest or ability, don’t want to garden at all, they can still come and sit, read or just engage with other folks,” says Morgen. “We’re creating different levels of involvement and programming that really allow people to feel they can be a part of a community space — with a side of gardening.” For more information, email gardeninthewake@protonmail.com.
