The Black History Month banners are leaving downtown Port Huron for now

The Black History Month banners in downtown Port Huron may be taken down, but they aren’t disappearing forever.

The flags are decorated with inspirational messages and photographs of Black people who have influenced the community.

“The pictures for sure help to tell the story of African Americans and minorities within the community that make contributions … whether it was through business, government, education,” said Kim Brown, pastor of the Zion Cathedral of Praise Church in Port Huron.

The flags were a joint effort between the NAACP of Port Huron, St. Clair County Organizing for Regional Equity and Awareness, Black Lives Matter and the Community Foundation of St. Clair County.

They were sponsored by local organizations and community members, who were able to submit a photo of a family member or an inspirational message to be displayed on the flag.

Brown said it is important to highlight people who have helped build our community.

“We feel that at this particular time, unity, diversity and honor of diversity is important in our society,” Brown said. “It is historical in that this is the first time anything like this has happened in the city of Port Huron.”

Many of the banners will be stored and rehung next year.

The banners donated by the city of Marysville will be hung in Marysville year-round, and five of them will be hung on SC4’s campus. In addition, the pictures will be displayed on SCCORE’s website, where people can learn more about them.

Next year, Brown hopes to have more photographs to display. She said this year, so many people had reached out that they couldn’t display them all.

“We are grateful for those who came alongside the project to make it successful, and it definitely was successful,” Brown said.

Submissions will start being accepted in August or September at www.sccorequity.com, Brown said. 

Contact Brian Wells at (810) 357-8668 or bwells@gannett.com. Follow him on Instagram and Twitter @bmwellsphoto.