CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – Shovels hit the ground Thursday on the African American Cultural Garden in Cleveland, marking a major milestone in a decades-long effort to complete the $1.9 million project.

The garden is located at the top of Wheelock Road just off St. Clair and cascades downhill, ending on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

Long ago, former City Councilman Leo Jackson began the quest to build a local African American Cultural Garden.

Two of the people who worked to see the project completed are DaVita Ewing and her husband Carl Ewing. He recalled what motivated him to help build the garden.

“I was down on my knees pulling weeds and this one little black kid and his grandma walked by and I heard him say, grandma, grandma where is our garden? And that struck me. And I said to that little kid, one day we’ll have that garden. Today is the day,” Carl Ewing said.

DaVita Ewing said the project represents more than just a physical space.

“It’s a declaration. It is a moment when vision, persistence and love finally take physical shape in the soil beneath our feet,” she said.

The garden honors and celebrates the presence and history of African Americans in Greater Cleveland. It’s scheduled to be completed by October 2026.

The garden design is by local architect W. Daniel Bickerstaff.

“We just want to make sure the community is well represented with the design amongst all the other cultural gardens,” Bickerstaff said.

The upper portion of the garden was completed in 2015 and represents the “Door of No Return,” the portal enslaved Africans passed through to board ships bound for the Americas.

The lower portion will represent the present, with a 250-square-foot terrace that will be a gathering place for events.

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