WASHINGTON — Editor's Note: The video above was published on May 14, 2022.
Kehmari Norman, was just in high school when her first love was killed in D.C., however, that was not the first or last time she would experience a tragic loss of a loved one. Norman, now 28 years old, also lost her father before she was born, and later in her life her two uncles, whom she also refers to as her best friends were killed as well.
"Throughout my life, I've had this tango with trauma," Norman said.
This unfortunate truth is experienced by many families and friends who are left to deal with the absence of the people who were once part of their lives. It was the death of her two uncles that spearheaded her dedication to giving back to those who have experienced the pain she has received throughout her life.
By day, Norman is a Community Garden Specialist in D.C. and by night she creates bouquets of flowers for her business, Black Flower Market which she started in 2018.
Norman has found the beauty in her pain and as a way to heal she uses her love of flowers not only to comfort herself but those in her community.
The Concrete Rose Project, the program that Norman started was created to give bouquets to families in D.C. who have experienced the loss of a loved one due to homicide.
Creating the Concrete Rose Project, Norman says has "completely riveted my life." The experiences she adds have grounded her and made her more empathetic.
Since 2019, when Norman started the Concrete Rose Project, she has given away around 24 bouquets throughout D.C. Norman says she aims to give at least one bouquet away each month; this year she has given away five. To receive a bouquet, people can nominate a family to be gifted one by clicking here.
Norman says she sources the flowers for her business from gardens throughout the city and other areas of the world. However, she hopes to one day become a resident of a local garden space and grow her own flowers.
Norman's great-grandfather was a sharecropper in North Carolina and she in part attributes his work as an influence on her taking up gardening. While she was a student at Temple Univerity, Norman alongside some friends helped transform vacant lots into garden spaces in Philadelphia. From there, her love of gardening "sprouted," as Norman would say.
As a fourth-generation Washingtonian, Norman's roots are here in D.C. During the week she lived right outside of the city in District Heights, Maryland. On the weekends, and during the summer, she was in D.C. with family throughout her childhood.
"Being a Washingtonian in this day in age is like being the last of a dying breed. I was emersed in Black culture growing up... To be a Washingtonian today is to preserve the culture of the city and to give back to the places where we grew up," Norman said.
Preserving the city with green spaces is what Norman says is part of her contribution to the community in the city and her hope is that the stories of the people in her community will not fade away.