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C.M. Goethe Arboretum

The Charles M. Goethe Arboretum, established in 1959, is a botanical garden situated on the north end of the Sacramento State University campus, at 6000 J Street, Sacramento, California. The arboretum was named in honor of Charles Goethe (1875-1966), a land developer, philanthropist, conservationist, eugenicist and one of the university’s founding fathers. The Goethe (pronounced "Gay-tee") Arboretum began with only 45 trees, and over the years has grown into a three acre (12,000 m²), with over 600 types of trees, shrubs, and flowers. The arboretum is maintained by the CSUS Foundation, which administers several sizable endowments left to the university by Goethe.

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Though wedged between a large parking lot and one of the busiest streets in town, the Goethe Arboretum offers a tranquil respite for visitors and students amid the urban jungle of California's State Capitol. The garden, often frequented by lovers attracted by meandering paths and the romantic setting, features heavy shade from many well established trees, a wide variety of plant species from around the world, and air often filled with a rich scent from towering eucalyptus trees. There is a California native plant section, installed in the early 1980s, containing several varieties of manzanita and many other native, drought resistant specimens.

Controversy has arisen over the naming of the Goethe Arboretum because of renewed attention to Goethe's zealous racist activities before World War II. Goethe, who founded the Eugenics Society of Northern California, recommended forced sterilizations, funded anti-Asian campaigns, opposed immigration, equated human beings with plants and animals, and praised German scientists attempting to "purify" the Aryan race. Goethe also praised the Nazis before and after World War II.

In a related controversy, community activists are requesting that the Sacramento City Unified School District rename Charles M. Goethe Middle School. Goethe Middle School has a predominantly African American, Latino, and Asian student population. In 2007 the board voted to rename the school to the "Rosa Parks Middle School".^[1]

• List of botanical gardens in the United States

• CSUS.edu - 'C.M. Goethe Arboretum' (official web page)
• NewsReview.com - 'Darkness on the edge of campus University’s philanthropic 'godfather’ was mad about eugenics', Chrisanne Beckner, Sacramento News & Review (February 19, 2004)
• SacBee.com - 'Curious historical bedfellows: Sac State and its racist benefactor - After receiving honors aplenty from university, C. M. Goethe left most of his big estate to it', Tony Platt, Sacramento Bee (February 29, 2004)
• StateHornet.com - 'Online petition seeks to change name of arboretum', David Martin Olson, State Hornet (February 4, 2005)