Lucille Berrien Mural Installed in Namesake Park

Lucille Berrien mural. Photo by Graham Kilmer.

A mural of community activist Lucille Berrien has been installed at her namesake park.

The mural in Lucille Berrien Park, 3629 N. 16th St., was funded by the Milwaukee Parks Foundation. The foundation worked with TRUE Skool, an organization that connects with youth through Hip-Hop, and artists Fred Kaems, Tyrone MackLee Randle Jr. and Ernesto Gomez to design and create the mural. The mural was installed on the north side of the park’s facilities building, facing W. Nash Street.

An unveiling was held in the park Monday and attended by Berrien herself and members of the Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression. The activist group was behind the initial campaign to change the name of the park, formerly named for Charlies Lindbergh, the famed aviator also known for his racist, anti-semite views.

In 2021, Sup. Priscilla E. Coggs-Jones authored a resolution renaming the park for Berrien. “Milwaukee County is committed to ensuring that its monuments, including its parks, are named after those individuals or communities that represent our highest and best values and the County’s dedication to racial equity,” Coggs-Jones resolution stated, adding that Berrien is a “prominent and highly regarded individual in Milwaukee” and that she has made “many contributions to our community and her neighborhood.”

Berrien was an activist in the open housing movement and the Welfare Mothers March. In 1972 she became the first Black woman to run for mayor of the City of Milwaukee. She served on the board of  Legal Action of Wisconsin and the Black Health Coalition, and as Coggs-Jones resolution noted, fostered more than 120 children.

In a statement released Friday, May 26, Coggs-Jones said, “Lucille Berrien’s contributions to our city have been immeasurable, and it is only fitting that we honor her memory with this mural and community celebration.”