Students and mentors came together in late October 2025 to design and build a both food pantry and free library for Black Panther Park, located in the Skyway neighborhood in South Seattle. Both structures were designed to honor the legacy of the  Seattle Chapter of the Black Panther Party and their efforts to offer social services to the community. Students began the journey by reading selections from “My People Are Rising” by former Seattle Black Panther Captain Aaron Dixon. Our students were profoundly impacted by the fact that the BPP members were high school-age students like themselves, fighting for better conditions in the same communities they live in today. Later in the design process, we gathered at Black Panther Park to meet with Aaron Dixon’s brother, Michael Dixon, and hear about his experience organizing to support his community. Next, students began sketching and envisioning what the pantry and free library could look like. After a couple of rounds of design, students presented their ideas to our community partners, Nurturing Roots & Stone Soup Gardens. With feedback from our partners, we finalized the designs and began building in early 2026.

We are grateful to our incredibly talented mentors that worked with our students through the design process: Ryan Marcari, Haley Havens, and Jenni Beetem. We are also so happy to be collaborating again with both Nurturing Roots and Stone Soup Gardens on this community gem!

Stay tuned to hear more about the build program and mark your calendars for the park to officially open April 19th, 2026!