Help Us Pay an Artist for a New Jelani Day Mural!
Donation protected
If you don't know the story of Jelani Day, he was a graduate student at ISU in Normal IL. He went missing on August 24th, and was later found dead floating in the Illinois River. Law enforcement was slow to respond to his disappearance, slow to search for him while he was missing, and remains slow in investigating his death as a murder - claiming he drowned himself. We know this man did not commit suicide. There is overwhelming evidence of foul play to suggest this man was in fact lynched. Law enforcement declined to broaden its investigation, hoping to close the case as a suicide without any further investigation.
Jelani's mother Carmen, asked that her son be seen, that he not be ignored and swept aside as if his life did not matter. In late September, an artist placed a mural of Jelani Day in Uptown Normal, honoring his mother's request and allowing our community a means to mourn and remember Jelani. But just two days later, on September 29, 2021 the Town of Normal removed the mural, citing a code violation. Rather than using their discretion when it comes to minor code infractions (as is their right), they made the CHOICE to remove it, even though they did not have to. It's important to note that they chose to remove it just before ISU's Parents Weekend.
It's been 3 months since Jelani went missing, and this community knows now more than ever, we need to remind law enforcement and those in positions of power that we're not just going to forget and move on.
But we need YOUR help! We want to be sure we pay the artist on this project a fair fee for their work and art. Our goal is to raise $500 in order to compensate the artist directly. Any amount you can give to help us reach this goal will bring us one step closer to making this project a reality. Please give what you can, and please share this with others and in your social media to encourage others to give as well!
ARTISTS! If you are an artist who is interested in being considered, please complete this short interest form: https://bit.ly/artist_interest_form
Organizer
Robert Garcia
Organizer
Bloomington, IL