Neighbors Organizing Against Racism is planning to repaint the Black Lives Matter mural in Benton Harbor. Director Trenton Bowens tells us the mural on Colfax Avenue in front of Benton Harbor High School was first painted in 2020 and it’s in need of a refresh. However, they need to raise funds before that can happen.
“We have to raise the funds because it’s a special type of paint,” Bowens said. “It’s a street marking paint that we have to utilize, and Sherman Williams is one of the only distributors that carry it locally, and it’s $125 per bucket.”
Bowens says they’ve already raised about $600 and will need another $1,400. Anyone who wants to donate can contact Neighbors Organizing Against Racism through its Facebook page or by reaching out to Bowens. He says they’ll do the repainting the weekend of August 19 as part of a Weekend of Action.
“That Saturday we’ll be repainting the Black Lives Matter mural, and that Sunday we’ll be having the community celebration for the June Woods Park memorial, which is formerly Broadway Park.”
Neighbors Organizing Against Racism received approval from the Benton Harbor City Commission to rename the park last year. June Woods Park is named for Junius Brutus Woods, a former slave who moved to Benton Harbor in the 1870s and later started a nursery. Bowens invites everyone to come out for the weekend of action, noting a diverse group of southwest Michigan residents came together in 2020 to install the Black Lives Matter mural.
