Garden seeks to narrate the history of the many diverse Black communities in the United States through the lens of plants. Including more than one hundred different species, the plants selected for the African American Garden represent the journey of those whose ancestry hails from West Africa via the Transatlantic slave trade, the Caribbean community, and the broader Diaspora including South and Central America. Each year, the garden’s eight beds are rearranged to cover a wide array of themes, from the plants that fueled the plantation system in the Americas to those whose creative, curative, and transformative uses remain culturally significant for Black people all over the world. This presentation discusses in detail the development of this ambitious project, which has resulted in a carefully curated experience enhanced with poetry, food, public lectures, symposia, and art, and which has attracted more than 100,000 visitors. The presentation will discuss the Garden’s origins, and how, under the umbrella of the Library, the staff collaborated with experts across multiple disciplines, community members, artists, and horticulturists to bring this project into fruition. Finally, there will be an analysis of the impact of this specialized garden on the institution, the community, the creators, and an exploration of how this garden will influence similar future projects.