STREET. JOSEPH, MI – Two monuments to Martin Luther King Jr. are coming to Benton Harbor and St. Joseph.
There will be a memorial dedication ceremony at 4:30 pm on Wednesday, June 19, beginning at 135 E. Main St. in Benton Harbor. Buses will be available to transport those attending the St. Joseph opening.
Sharon Brown, co-founder of the Benton Harbor Gallery of African American History and Literature, said she believes the monuments will bring “a different mindset” to the cities. The memorials will cost a combined total of $850,000, funded by donations and a $50,000 state grant.
“For our young people, and any generation that missed the sacrifice that Dr. King made, they couldn’t accept it, be aware of it,” Brown said. “Generations didn’t necessarily pass down that history, so it’s okay to go back.”
The monuments, designed by sculptor David Alan Clark, follow two different themes. The Benton Harbor monument will be called “A Seat at the Table” and will show King standing at the head of a table with a child nearby pushing a stool toward the table. The memorial will be near the entrance to City Center Park at 146 E. Main St.
The monument aims to encourage people to “join the conversation,” according to the Unified Civic Monuments website.
A monument titled ‘The Top of the Mountain’ will be erected in St. Joseph at the Margaret B. Upton Arboretum.
In St. Joseph, the monument titled “Top of the Mountain” will show King with his hand on the shoulder of a young black girl alongside a white girl releasing doves toward Benton Harbor. The memorial will be located at the west end of the Margaret B. Upton Arboretum at 617-699 Water St., which borders the St. Joseph River.
The monument is intended to represent “hope for a peaceful and joyful future between the two cities,” according to the Unified Civic Monuments website.
“I still get goosebumps when I think about standing on the cliff with Sharon and asking her to talk about some of the visions she had for this project,” Laura Goos, former mayor of St. Joseph, said in a promotional video for the monuments.
The project was led by the Benton Harbor Gallery of African American Literature and History, 725 Broadway Ave.
The project was also supported by KRASL Art Center, Lake Michigan College, BH/SJ Arts & Culture Social Justice Group, and the cities of Benton Harbor and St. Joseph.
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