Milwaukee, WI – On October 22, the Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression and members of the Lucille Berrien Park community came together to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the park’s renaming. Although Berrien herself wasn’t able to join the celebration, two of her grandchildren were able to attend and offer beautiful memories of growing up with Berrien and being taught by her to be strong women committed to justice.

Along with the one-year anniversary of the renaming, Saturday’s celebration was also an opportunity to gather community input for a mural that the Milwaukee Parks Foundation has commissioned to be painted at the park. Members of True Skool Inc., a hip hop artist collective that works closely with Milwaukee youth and who will be painting the mural, are committed to painting a mural that celebrates both Berrien and the community. Some of the mural ideas presented to True Skool Inc. on Saturday included images of Berrien and the work she did around the city, like fighting for welfare rights, fighting against racist repression and demanding police accountability.

The Milwaukee Alliance intends on making this an annual event to continue celebrating Berrien and to bring the community together.

In Milwaukee, parks are invaluable resources for communities. However, Milwaukee County officials have preferred to slash funding for their maintenance in order to continue increasing funding for the Sheriff’s Office. Many community members expressed a desire to watch the park thrive as it once did decades ago when Berrien lived in the community. It may take some time, but the Milwaukee Alliance will join the community in making Berrien Park a park that families frequent and where they feel safe and empowered and a park that reflects the legacy of Lucille Berrien.

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