Edison High School Peace Garden

Inviting peace and celebrating diversity

A Brief History

During the 2023-2024 school year, Matthew Pitcher was the ASB President at Edison High School and a student trustee on the Fresno Unified school board. He desired to leave a positive mark on his high school campus that nurtured him for four years. The idea of creating a peace garden was born, inspired by the work Mr. Ali Shabazz had done with students at Edison and neighbors in the community of Southwest Fresno. Mr. Shabazz was killed in a car accident during the summer of 2022, and his death left a noticeable void in the lives of those who knew and loved him. In the spring before his senior year, Matthew began working with school and district administrators, as well as community organizations, to plan, design, and fulfill his vision for this project. The peace garden is a reflective space that invites peace and celebrates the diversity of the students of Edison and the community of Southwest Fresno. The peace garden memorializes the dedication of Mr. Shabazz to his community and serves as a space for various student groups on campus to represent their cultural practices. Over 50 students and staff helped plant the donated trees and plants. Matthew and his team partnered with over 25 individuals and local organizations to secure donations for the garden, which totaled approximately $20,000.

Preparing the Space

Planting Days

Historical Context

The region of West Fresno has a complex and rich history and Edison High School’s place within that history is equally complex and rich. The region of West Fresno was redlined in the early to mid 1900s, and the impacts from this policy, along with other discriminatory practices, resulted in harmful outcomes that continue to affect residents today.

The community members of West Fresno are advocates who care about the issues that impact their neighborhood and their children. There is a long history of community involvement in this region of the city. During the Civil Rights era, Ms. Mattie Meyers was instrumental in bringing Martin Luther King, Jr. to Fresno to lead a march from Fresno High School to Ratcliffe Stadium where he addressed a crowd of 3,000 people to call for an end to unfair housing.

Ms. Meyers also advocated for an end to the de facto segregation that existed in Fresno schools. She gave a statement at a hearing before the select sub-committee on education of the committee on education and labor, House of Representatives Eighty-Eighth Congress, about the unequal educational experiences of children living in West Fresno.

Over the next two decades, Fresno Unified, residents of the greater city of Fresno, and community members of West Fresno faced many challenges as they worked to decide the fate of Edison High School. Attempts at voluntary integration didn’t meet the requirements of the federal government. There were people who called for the closing of Edison because they did not believe the school could be desegregated. In 1984, Fresno Unified launched Computech Middle School, the computer, mathematics, and science magnet program which drew students from around the city to attend the middle school, thus achieving an integrated Edison High School. The diversity of our school is a point of pride that we still enjoy today.

The creation and implementation of this program has not been perfect. There have been additional difficulties placed on this community because of the choice the district made to keep Edison open and start the magnet program. The Peace Garden is a symbol of the commitment of Edison students to to pursue unity and peace, acknowledge the strength of our diversity, and engage in the work that is required to get to know our fellow students that we might share in the joy of our victories as well as in the burden of our struggles.

Dedicated to Mr. Ali Shabazz

Ali Shabazz was a beloved West Fresno community leader and imam. As the head of the Masjid Al-Aqaba mosque, Mr. Shabazz led hundreds in jummah prayer every Friday. He spent his days serving the community in this role, donating his earnings back to the mosque. Mr. Shabazz spent his nights working for Caltrans as a civil engineer to provide for his family. During the summer of 2022, Mr. Shabazz was driving on the rural roads south of Mendota on his way to a job site on I-5 when he was hit and killed by a driver who ran a stop sign. He was married to his wife Nia, who he met when they were both students at Edison High School, and the couple had eight children.

Peace Garden Blooms

Dedication Ceremony

The dedication ceremony for the peace garden was held on April 26, 2024. There were 125 people in attendance as the garden was dedicated to Mr. Ali Shabazz.

Peace Garden Dedication Ceremony

Introduction

Bissetti Ueno-DaSilva

Peace Garden Club Member, Edison High School

Welcome

Principal Joey Muñoz

Edison High School

Superintendent Welcome

Superintendent Bob Nelson

Fresno Unified School District

Opening Remarks

Edison Region Board Trustee Keshia Thomas

Fresno Unified School District

Dedication Address

Matthew Pitcher

Peace Garden Founder, Edison High School

Awards and Recognition

Congressman Jim Costa

CA State Senator Anna Caballero

United States Senator Alex Padilla

North Fresno Rotary President Larry Granados

Caltrans District 6 Director Diana Gomez

Closing

Xander Garcia and Marlene Vue

Peace Garden Club Members, Edison High School

Photos from the Dedication Ceremony

Civic Engagement

On May 7, 2024, Matthew presented his project for the Fresno County Youth Showcase at the Tower Theater

Matthew earned the CA State Seal of Civic Engagement for his project

Peace Pole

We installed a Peace Pole, donated by the North Fresno Rotary, on June 4, 2024.

Our Peace Pole says May Peace Prevail on Earth in eight different languages: English, Spanish, Hmong, Arabic, Lao, Khmer, Hindi, and Filipino.

The message May Peace Prevail On Earth was authored by the late Masahisa Goi of Japan after the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

It is now an international message of peace with over 250,000 Peace Poles in every country in the world, dedicated as monuments to peace.

A QR code on the side of the pole takes you to a map on the Rotary website that shows where the organization has installed poles around the globe.

Plaque Installation

On June 11, 2025, we installed the final major element of the garden. The plaque commemorates our original contributors, our founder, and Mr. Shabazz.