The AFrican AMErican History & Literature Gallery is donating the proceeds from their fundraiser in Stevensville to the Unified Civic Monuments Project (UCMP).
The FUNrasier Pop-up is located at 4150 Roosevelt Road, outside the Lighthouse Attic Resale Shop. Sharon and Mack Brown, the directors of the Gallery, are the founders of the UCMP. The treasures at the Pop–up have been donated by the Browns and others and include clothing, art, home décor and more.
Donations for the FUNraiser Pop-up can be made on the UCMP website at unifiedmonuments.org/donate by adding the note, “AAHLG FUNraiser Pop-up.” The Gallery aims to raise $1,000 per month for the monuments project.
“We talk to a lot of regulars at the Pop-up, but it’s also amazing to share with all the new visitors who are so enthusiastic to learn about the monuments going up in Benton Harbor and St. Joseph,” said Sharon Brown.
The Browns staff the Pop-up Fridays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The public is also invited to a Unity Walk from Dwight Pete Mitchell City Center Park in Benton Harbor to Margaret B. Upton Arboretum in St. Joseph, the sites of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. monuments scheduled to be unveiled next summer.
The Unity Walk will be held on Sunday, May 21, from 3 to 5 p.m. and will begin and end at City Center Park in downtown Benton Harbor. The May walk is the first in a series that will be held every third Sunday throughout the summer. Light refreshments will be provided. There will be a limited return shuttle available back to Benton Harbor from St. Joseph.
UCMP has raised 63% of its $850,000 goal to design and install monuments honoring Dr. King in Benton Harbor and St. Joseph. The designs have been approved and can be viewed at unifiedmonuments.org/monuments.
Unified Civic Monument Project
The Unified Civic Monuments Project is led by the founders of the African American History & Literature Gallery, with the support of Krasl Art Center, Lake Michigan College, Berrien Community Foundation, the BH-SJ Arts & Culture Social Justice Group, and the cities of Benton Harbor and St. Joseph.
Benton Harbor-St. Joseph Arts & Culture Social Justice Group
The Benton Harbor – St. Joseph Arts & Culture Social Justice Group stands in solidarity with community-wide efforts supporting, advocating and promoting social justice within the cities of Benton Harbor & St. Joseph, Michigan. It is our commitment as cultural institutions and individuals to utilize our unique resources to support this work – this may include special programs, space use, materials and expertise.
We interpret social justice to mean that everyone deserves equal economic, political and social justice rights and opportunities.
Committee Co-Chairs:
Mayor Laura Goos, St. Joseph
Commissioner Edward Isom, Benton Harbor
