Fund-raiser to replace Harriet Tubman bust at St Catharines church passes halfway mark
Published October 19, 2021 at 10:35 am
The Go Fund Me to replace the vandalized bust of famed freedom fighter Harriet Tubman at St Catharine’s tiny Salem Chapel British Methodist Episcopal Church has officially passed the halfway point.
St Catharine’s Natasha Bell, best known locally as the owner-operator of BlackOwned905, a site that steers people toward black-owned businesses, started the fundraising drive October 14, hoping to raise $13,000.
As of this morning – a scant five days later – the Go Fund Me was up to $6,758.
Bell wants to replace the former bust, made of the traditional ultra-hard clay, with a far more durable (and hard to vandalize) bronze one.
Bell’s campaign saw a big boost over the weekend when one anonymous donor chipped in $2,000.
The crime, which happened on Thanksgiving weekend, was initially seen as a racially-motivated attack. However, after watching a video and then catching the suspect, a 24-year-old transient man with no fixed address, Niagara Police now suspect it was just random vandalism.