A Respite
to Reflect
and Respect.
JUSTICE EDWARD O. GOURDIN
MEMORIAL PARK
General Edward O. Gourdin African American Veterans Memorial Park is a welcoming space in Nubian Square that reflects Roxbury’s history and honors the Black community and its military legacy. The former Dudley Park was re-envisioned in a community-led campaign by Veterans and Friends of Gourdin Memorial Park. The 18,000-square-foot space hosts annual events including African American Military Heritage Day in May and Memorial Day .
Martha Lyon Landscape Architecture renovated the park space with an accessible plaza shaped like a star to honor the five branches of the U.S. military. Trees separate the plaza from the traffic of Washington St., Shawmut Ave., and Malcolm X Boulevard.
In addition to these landscape and accessibility improvements, the park is home to the General Gourdin and African American Veterans Memorial. Its centerpiece is a life-size bronze portrait of Justice Edward O. Gourdin, sculpted by Boston artist Fern Cunningham-Terry. Arranged along the northwest edge of plaza are ten bas-reliefs carved by the sculptor’s cousin Karen Eutemey, acknowledging the wars fought by or in the United States in which African American men and women served.
