Historic Tree Grove: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Sycamore

American Sycamore

American Sycamore (Platanus occidentalis) is a large hardwood tree that can grow to 100 feet in height. The leaves are extremely large, around the size of a dinner plate, and turn yellow in the late fall in Florida. The leaves are lost during the winter and return in spring, followed by round seed pods. The bark of this tree lacks the elasticity found in the bark of other trees, so rather than expanding with the tree, it often sloughs off in large pieces. This does not harm the health of the tree. Sycamores are native to the Eastern U.S.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was one of the pivotal leaders of the American civil rights movement. King was a Baptist minister, one of the few leadership roles available to black men at the time. He became a civil rights activist early in his career. He led the Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955–1956) and helped found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (1957), serving as its first president. His efforts led to the 1963 March on Washington, where King delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech. Here he raised public consciousness of the civil rights movement and established himself as one of the greatest orators in U.S. history.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. visited Florida in 1964 where he led marches in St. Augustine. Marches led by King were met with violent opposition by segregationists and hundreds of the marchers were arrested and jailed. These actions came to be known at the St. Augustine Movement. The St. Augustine Foot Soldiers Monument was installed in May of 2011 to commemorate some of the peaceful protesters who were important during this portion of the battle for Civil Rights.

In 1964, King became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to end segregation and racial discrimination through civil disobedience and other non-violent means. King was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Sycamore

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gathered with 3,200 supporters at Brown Chapel, AME, shaded by the parent of this sycamore tree. They peacefully marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, toward Montgomery. Their ranks swelled to over 25,000 in the final stretch to the Alabama Capitol, which they reached four days later.

Peace Garden

The area beneath this tree has become a Peace Garden, an area to reflect on Dr. King's life and the changes he helped to bring about. In his words, “Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal.” Several slate markers beneath the tree display inspirational quotations from the famous orator, and future plans include hanging dozens of wooden doves with the words for "peace" in many languages from the branches. Plantings in this garden include Peace Lilies (Spathiphyllum spp.) and Wild Olive (Osmanthus americanus).

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Sycamore Art and Artists

Artwork for the information signs was created by local artist Holly Bird. 

The bench artwork was created by Michaela Gibbons.

Artist's Statement: Throughout time people have used art to express ideas and feelings, exploring sights,ideas, feelings, and capturing events through paint, architecture, and music appealing to all our senses to better understand the world we are living in.

Art bridges time and space and breaks down cultural barriers so that the history of one place, one country, really becomes a chapter in the history of the human race.

Growing up in Germany, an ocean away from the United States and the MLK Sycamore in the Richard T. Bowers Historic Tree Grove at MOSI, Tampa, Florida, I was raised with a clear understanding of Martin Luther King Jr's importance to the history of all of humankind, and again art is tying histories and cultures
together when I, a German ex-pat living in Florida, was invited to create a piece of art to commemorate this man and my probably favorite tree, the Sycamore.

Just like Martin Luther King, Jr., the MLK Sycamore is a shining beacon, standing tall and proud, its silver bark pristine, and true, its crown of leaves a glorious fire in the fall. It's my favorite tree in my new home country.

About Michaela: Michaela Gibbons was born and raised in Germany until she fell in love with an 'American GI' (cross that out) journalist, and eloped to the United States. She now resides with her family in Jacksonville, FL, where she spends her days as preservationist of historic homes, calligrapher and illuminator, historical reenactor, and beginning urban farmer.