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Setting The Table
This is a factual accounting of the physical object created for The Table.
The Table was an event envisioned by Jonathan Tremaine (JT), a Christian minister and entrepreneur, who had the idea to bring people together of all walks of life to Build The Table, Set The Table and Share a Meal at The Table.
As of June 28, 2021, the official website states:
The Table is a place where royalty should feel at home, and where the homeless should feel like royalty. It’s a place for communion , meditation, negotiation and innovation. It’s a place to get to know conversations, find one another , and possibly … in and of itself, it is a way forward.
The event was originally planned for, and took place on, June 19, 2021, also known as “Juneteenth”. Days before the event happened, the United States Federal Government signed into law to make Juneteenth a federal holiday formally called the Juneteenth National Independence Day. This day historically is also known as Jubilee Day, Emancipation Day, Freedom Day, and Black Independence Day.
The physical object called The Table, originally was designed by Chris DeShon, owner of Madison Equipment And Lumber (MEAL) who met JT along with myself on Monday, April 12. The original concept for The Table was to stretch an entire city block in front of JT’s model for renewal through business in Ferguson, Soul Coffee Roasters at 100 North Florissant Road in Ferguson, Missouri.
Chris brought along a massive tape measure. He and myself measured the entire city block from stop sign to stop sign. The measurement was exactly 500 feet.
After the measuring, we reported back to JT about this 500 foot length. He liked it. "The Table", conceptually, was born.
Also, at this time, the price of wood began to skyrocket in price upwards of 500% and then all the way to 1000% normal price, due to market rubber banding from post-Covid-pandemic market volatility.
Thankfully, Google, in the construction of a data center donated 10,000 sheets of plywood which Chris DeShon was able to receive.
Chris, in the measuring of The Table, designed a simple table design that used this donated plywood 100%. The 500 foot long table required 167-200 sheets of plywood. Chris also calculated that the table, taking into account “social distancing”, could seat 250 people. Remember, at this time the US Center for Disease Control (CDC) still did not recommend gatherings of more than a household size. One day before the formal announcement of The Table, the CDC recommended that people who were vaccinated could resume their normal lives indoors and outdoors.
The Table could easily sit 400-500 people.
In order to fund the production of the table, myself, Jon Phillips, received a grant from the Momoko Ito Foundation into the Fabricatorz Foundation, a 501(c)3 nonprofit based in St. Louis, Missouri.
The resources were used for table production, labor, seating, equipment including a industrial paint sprayer, and several cans of black paint needed to paint the table.
The production took place from April 2021 until the day of the event June 19, 2021.
The Table was eventually moved to the blacktop parking lot of nearby First Baptist Church of Ferguson for permit and logistical reasons.
At this point, it was clear that a design would be needed to insure that The Table would work in the surrounding area. I enlisted Chicago-based architect Josh Harks and Venezuelan-American architecture and landscape designer, Dwight Portocarrero, to survey the parking lot. We came up with the concept of The Garden in coordination with JT.
On June 19, 2021, The Table was built, set and over 260 people endured all forms of challenges, including multiple thunderstorms, heat advisories, exhaustion and issues, in order to realize The Table. For a one hour window, thunderstorms subsided, and all whom attended, exited the shelter of the First Baptist Church of Ferguson to share a meal together.
Mission Accomplished.
Personal Note: I still am not able to process this entire event, what happened and the impact. What I can say is that the process of building The Table was personally trying and exhausting. The day after the event, I noticed that I then had, through my labor of building the table, something small to discuss with people not like myself. I am still thinking about this process and might have more to say after some time…
~ Jon Phillips, June 28, 2021
Bio
Jon Phillips is Co-Founder and Executive Director of Fabricatorz Foundation. His work is known globally and has been covered widely. He lives and works in Saint Louis and Hong Kong.