President Donald Trump has again raised plans to build a “National Garden of American Heroes” honoring hundreds of the nation’s most famous historical figures, including several Black Catholics.
The president highlighted the proposed sculpture garden during a Black History Month gathering at the White House on Thursday. Guests included golfer Tiger Woods, rap stars Boosie and Kodak Black, and a Black Catholic in former ESPN host Sage Steele.
“The last administration tried to reduce all of American history to a single year: 1619,” Trump said during a speech at the event.
“Under our administration, we honor the indispensable role Black Americans have always played in the immortal cause of another date: 1776.”
President Trump Hosts a Reception Honoring Black History Month https://t.co/Yvc8pAlJYK
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) February 20, 2025
The proposed national garden, first announced in 2020 during Trump’s first administration, was originally part of an executive order signed in July of that year with a total of 31 names—including four African Americans. The list was later expanded to 244 overall, with a planned completion date before the opening of the U.S. sesquicentennial anniversary year in July 2026.
Following his election victory in November 2020, President Joe Biden revoked the garden plan the following May. Trump’s executive order last month reversed that decision while calling for the list to be increased again to 250. (His domestic policy head, a Catholic in Vince Haley, is tasked with providing the additional names.)
“This new, beautiful outdoor statue park… is going to be unbelievable,” said Trump.
“We’re picking the final sites now. It’s between various states that want it very badly. We’ll honor hundreds of our greatest Americans to ever live, including countless Black American icons.”
The list of 244 in fact includes both Americans as well as non-Americans known for their activities in the United States.
Some of the Catholics to receive honors are Venerable Augustus Tolton, the nation’s first openly Black Catholic priest; “Stagecoach Mary” Fields, the first African-American mail carrier; NBA Hall of Famer Kobe Bryant (who received a special shout-out at Thursday's White House event); Baseball Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente; and jazz greats Billie Holiday and Louis Armstrong.
Other Black heroes listed include Martin Luther King Jr., Coretta Scott King, Frederick Douglass, Jackie Robinson, Jesse Owens, Medgar Evers, Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Rosa Parks, and Booker T. Washington. St. Katharine Drexel, the second American Catholic saint and a legendary White philanthropist in the Black community, is also slated to receive a statue.
As for the construction timeline, the 2026 deadline has been scrapped, with Trump’s latest executive order stipulating only that the garden be completed “as expeditiously as possible.”
It is unclear how the White House plans to fund the project, though the president emphasized during his Black History Month gathering the dubious claim that his new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has identified “tens of billions of dollars” that can be saved via federal cutbacks.
Trump has also suggested that lawmakers in Washington should take action to help bring the national garden to fruition.
“It will be something very special, and I hope that Congress will fully fund this wonderfully unifying project at the first possible opportunity. It’s not going to be a lot of money,” he told attendees at the National Prayer Breakfast on Feb. 6 at the Capitol.
“[It’s] going to be very important, however, so that more of our people can be inspired by the faith and courage of patriots like those who we honor in these halls.”
Nate Tinner-Williams is co-founder and editor of Black Catholic Messenger.
