Sanctum

Parks are sacred spaces for Black communities, and in challenging times they serve as islands of calm amidst the chaos.

Case in point is Magic Johnson Park in the unincorporated Los Angeles County community of Willowbrook. During the summer of 2020 – in the midst of a global pandemic, civil unrest, and pivotal Presidential election – the initial phase of transforming the park into a model of environmental sustainability and resilience neared completion.

This 6-½ minute video was conceived by one of the landscape architects leading the project, as a means of documenting this historic moment by asking Willowbrook residents why parks – and specifically Magic Johnson Park – are important. The result is an innovative and powerful spiritual expression of the meaning of parks and open space to urban communities.