MARION, Ind. (WISH) — A nonprofit hub in Marion will soon decide whether or not to remove two murals of prominent Black women from its building. Community members say removing them would be a mistake.

One of the murals features astronaut Mae Jemison, the first Black woman to travel to space. The other mural features jazz artist Billie Holiday, who sang the generational song, “Strange Fruit.”

“The song ‘Strange Fruit’ was inspired by events that happened here in our courthouse,” Torri Williams, a member of the community, said Saturday while looking at the mural.

Williams is referring to the last-known lynching in Indiana. It happened on courthouse grounds in Marion.

The deaths of the two teens, “Abe” Smith and “Tom” Shipp, are believed to have inspired the anti-lynching song.

Today, over 94 years later, a mural of Holiday sits just blocks away, on the side of the Collabora building on South Washington Street.

“The important thing about this mural and this art is that people get the opportunity to understand like when they use their gifts, it could actually change the world,” Williams said.

The building has had many lives. It was once a bank, a café, and a place where community members gathered.

The murals were painted four years ago.

Late last year, the Community Foundation of Grant County announced the building would soon be home to six local nonprofits. They’re calling the project Collabora. It’s set to open early next year.

Since the announcement, community members have been curious about what might happen to the murals.

“A couple of days ago, it became sort of public knowledge that they were maybe going to go away,” Patricia Gibson, a member of the community, said. “So, a lot of people have been expressing the hope that that decision maybe wasn’t final.”

After people made their concerns heard on social media, the foundation released a statement Saturday.

“The partners at Collabora are committed to honoring and enhancing the role of public art in our community,” the statement said. “As part of our renovation and revitalization of the Collabora building, we are carefully reviewing the full range of options for the murals currently on the property. Because we want to ensure that all decisions are made with the benefit of a thorough review, we are taking additional time to consider the possibilities before a final decision is made. To that end, the Foundation is shifting this important conversation back to the six Collabora partners, who will work together to determine a path forward. We are confident that, through collaboration, they will identify an artistic solution that both highlights public art and continues to tell the many stories that make Grant County unique. Collabora remains committed to fostering a space where creativity, community, and collaboration thrive—and where the arts are celebrated as a vibrant part of our shared future.”

I-Team 8 reached out to ask why they are considering the removal. They did not answer that question and said they don’t have a timeline for the decision.

“Our Board of Directors, as well as the six Collabora partners, will be meeting in the coming days and weeks,” the foundation’s executive committee said in an additional statement. “We are committed to listening to our community, and the six Collabora partners will work together to determine a path forward. There is no timeline for that process. Collabora remains committed to fostering a space where creativity, community, and collaboration thrive – and where the arts are celebrated as a vibrant part of our shared future.”

Local artists and community members say their worries about removing them stem from two places.

First, they’re concerned about erasing the memory of two Black icons and the chance to learn of their impact on Marion.

“I think having two strong, powerful, Black women on the side of a building may give some kids some encouragement that someday you could be a strong, Black, young woman on the side of a building,” Danny Beck, a local artist, said. “In communities like ours, there’s no denying that that representation could be powerful.”

Many members of the community are also concerns about losing pieces of public art. It’s something that’s common in the city and brings joy to many.

“From my perspective, public art is something that I really love,” Gibson said. “Whenever I go to a city, that’s one of the things I like to explore, and that’s one of the things that I would hope when people visit Marion, they enjoy about our city is that you can find beauty hidden in corners around the city.”

Community members have created a petition, click here to view it.

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