For years, Cudell Commons Park had been a site of pain and sorrow for Samaria Rice. It's where her 12-year-old son, Tamir, was shot and killed by Cleveland police in 2014 after a 911 caller reported the child was waving a gun around and scaring people. The gun turned out to be a toy.
But Samaria and her community worked to metamorphose the site into a place of healing. It's now a butterfly-shaped memorial garden, lush with native plants like milkweed that attract and feed the winged insects, colorful stone mosaics and, of course, a plaque and heartfelt dedication to Tamir's life and memory.
"Although it has been rocky with the City of Cleveland, I just want them to always remember what has happened in this city to my son and others that have been affected," Rice told Ideastream.
Tamir's butterfly memorial is now officially a city landmark.
"I was afraid that the city will try to change the space, and I don't want that space changed," said Rice, who helped lead the charge through the city's landmark designation process. "I want it to stay as is because that's the only memory that I have of my child. And it means a lot to the community."
The city will designate landmarks as such for their historical, cultural or architectural significance, protecting the site from demolition and significantly alterations in the future.
"None of us now in 2025 can imagine a scenario in which someone would attempt to build something next to it or what have you, but landmark status essentially means that it enjoys greater protection," said Council Member Jenny Spencer, whose Ward 15 includes Cudell. "It's really a marker for preserving this for generations to come."
The rest of Cudell Commons is also getting a multi-million dollar makeover.
After a lengthy battle to preserve green space at the park amid construction of a new school in the area, Spencer said that site of tension among neighbors will soon transform into a true community space.
"It was a really difficult time, and there was a lot of conflict in the community...and the Tamir Rice Butterfly Memorial was in the middle of it; literally physically situated in the middle of that entire space between the school and the green space," Spencer said. "It was really Miss Rice's leadership that broke that whole impasse and allowed all the parties to come together and set a new direction, which has resulted in a completely redesigned school and a much larger portion of the green space preserved, all the while centering the memorial in that."
The new Marion C. Seltzer Elementary School is currently under construction and is expected to open its doors to students in the 2027-2028 school year. The park, which Spencer said is slated to receive more than $2 million in the coming years, will be redesigned by the same design company responsible for the butterfly memorial.
