Friends of the Philando Castile Peace Garden

Philando Castile devoted his life to providing food and kindness to children in St. Paul Public Schools. As a dietary manager, he knew each student’s name and dietary needs. A parent referred to him as “Mr. Rogers with dreadlocks”. Philando was loved by many people.

On July 6, 2016, a police officer pulled Philando over in Falcon Heights, Minnesota. After 62 seconds of respectful cooperation, Philando was killed in a hail of bullets. In response, people came to the place where he died to share in their shock, anger, and grief. They left art, toys, flowers, and gifts and found connection.

An alliance of Philando’s family, community residents, artists, and others began envisioning the place where Philando was shot as a permanent memorial. The vision was for a contemplative gathering space for peace, justice, and healing built around winding paths, gardens, and places to sit and reflect. The Friends of the Philando Castile Peace Garden was granted 501(c)(3) status by the IRS in 2022.  

Our mission is to maintain, enhance, and promote the Peace Garden and inspire a new era of community healing, reconciliation, unity, and transformation by creating a contemplative and peaceful gathering space at the site of a tragic death.

The Philando Castile Community Peace Garden is now a 7,000-square-foot contemplative gathering space located in Falcon Heights. A large circular bench of remembrance and steps are designed to reflect the events of Philando’s death. A tree and a cosmogram with inscriptions reflect Philando’s life. Flowers, trees, and shrubs, as well as metal structures based on African Adinkra symbols that represent concepts of peace, unity, endurance, and love, line the pathways. 

We tell the story of how Philando’s death inspired communities to come together for creative expression, acts of remembrance, conversation, personal reflection, and engagement around issues of justice, racial equity, cross-cultural understanding, and reconciliation. 

For the past seven years, a candlelight vigil has been hosted at the Peace Garden on July 6, the anniversary of Philando’s death. A companion event, the Unity Day BBQ, has been hosted on July 7 at Falcon Heights City Hall, as a way to welcome the community to come together in unity. The Unity Day BBQ event was created and supported by people who were traumatized by Philando’s killing, including most notably, his mother, Valerie Castile.