BOISE, Idaho — Downtown Boise has a new park and soon it will be officially dedicated to a trailblazing community leader, retired Idaho lawmaker Cherie Buckner Webb. Buckner-Webb became the first Black lawmaker to serve in the Idaho Legislature back in 2010 and has long time been a major community leader working with several nonprofits over the years.
From a young age, Buckner-Webb has always been a fierce advocate for human rights and Thursday the City of Boise will hold a special ceremony to honor Buckner-Webb and to officially name the park after her.
The Buckner-Webb family has called Idaho home for seven generations. During that time, they’ve fought for civil and human rights. When Cherie Buckner-Webb was growing up in Boise, a hate group burned a wooden cross in her yard. Her family was targeted not just because of the color of their skin, but the work the family did as dedicated civil rights activists.
Buckner-Webb explored the soon-to-be-named park for the first time Wednesday. She says the park is just incredible.
“It's so welcoming and it's right smack dab in the middle of town, people that come for business may see it, people that come to check out the town and it says you are welcome," Buckner-Webb said. "We've got neighbors from over there and over here we're all sitting together having a drink, and the children, the children will bring everybody together to swing on the swings. Somebody who had that vision, deserves large kudos and it's such a beautiful piece of art, and yet it's so welcoming. It's the epitome of the Boise that I believe in.”
Cherie Buckner-Webb worked to create the Idaho Black History Museum in the historic St. Paul Baptist Church, a place that was once her great-grandfather’s church. Her son Phillip Thompson now runs the museum and is a visible part in our community, continuing the conversations his family started decades ago. He says the first generation of his family would be so honored to have their name on a park.
“They came here from Missouri and Oklahoma, and they came here looking for something better opportunity, you name it, and they would not imagine having something as profound as a park, they were just looking for an ability to thrive and to be allowed to live,” Thompson said.
Thinking back on the legacy of her work that will be forever cemented in Boise history, Buckner-Webb says it’s truly an honor.
“I am so humbled and I'm not playing. I am so humbled by this because there's so many that I have honored and wanted to emulate and support. I am so unbelievably humbled, that's all I can say,” Buckner-Webb said.
The City of Boise invites the community to join the dedication ceremony at the new Cherie Buckner-Webb Park. The event is set for Thursday at 4 p.m.
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