Story by Herald Palladium/Louise Wrege; photo credit: Don Campbell/HP staff.
Time is growing short to be a part of bringing two Martin Luther King Jr. monuments to the Twin Cities a reality.
“We’ve been saying, ‘Now is the time’ for the last two years,” said Sharon Brown, one of the founders of the African American History & Literature Gallery in Benton Harbor. “That has shifted. The time is short. We’ve gotten into another level of the project.”
She said they want to give everyone an opportunity to donate to the monuments now that they have raised 70 percent of the $850,000 needed to erect the monuments.
“It’s a community project,” Brown said during a fundraising event Thursday at the gallery. “We don’t want people to miss out on being a part of it.”
Mike Nadolski, project coordinator for the monuments, said they are pushing hard to raise $155,000 in the next two weeks so they can launch their Patronicity crowdfunding campaign for the final $100,000 needed through the state program: Public Spaces, Community Places.
“It’s happening. The only question is – what part are you going to play to make this happen?” he said.
Nadolski said fundraising needs to be done by the end of July, so the monuments can be in place in time for Juneteenth of 2024. To make that happen, he said the foundational work needs to be put in this fall.
If the money isn’t raised in time, he said the project dates will be pushed back some, but it will still happen.
The erection of the two monuments is being organized by the United Civic Monuments Project, which plans to install one of them at the Dwight Pete Mitchell City Center Park in Benton Harbor and the other at the Upton Arboretum in St. Joseph.
Brown and her husband, Emanuel Brown, are leading the project, with support from the Krasl Art Center, Lake Michigan College, Berrien Community Foundation, the Benton Harbor-St. Joseph Arts & Culture Social Justice Group and the cities of Benton Harbor and St. Joseph.
UCMP is also hosting Unity Walks the third Sunday of every month through the summer between the sites where the monuments will be placed. The remaining walks, hosted by Zoy! Adventures, will be on July 16 and Aug. 20.
For more information on the walks, to view the designs approved by each city or to donate, go to https://unified monuments.org.