Artists to Begin Work on Lake Worth Beach’s Osborne Community “Unity Wall” During MLK Weekend

Wall with a history of separating white from black communities to be turned into a symbol of unity.

WHAT: The Whispering Palm Neighborhood Association and Healthier Lake Worth Beach, a Palm Health Foundation initiative, has come together to repaint and revitalize the Lake Worth Beach Unity Wall. This wall is a 1,100-foot cinder block wall that runs along Wingfield Street in the South end of Lake Worth Beach. There was a time when this wall represented separation. Today this wall will forever stand for people of all races and cultures coming together to break down the walls and barriers of hate, injustice.

Built in 1954, the wall served as an unofficial border between residents of the "Osborne Colored Addition" and their white neighbors in the Whispering Palms community at the city's south end. In 1954,the city's zoning code required Black residents to live in the Osborne subdivision. It remained that way until 1969. "For today’s generation and society, that wall does not represent segregation anymore,"said Retha Lowe, the city's first Black commissioner and a lifelong resident of the Osborne community.."It’s about bringing our city together — all types of people. That's what it represents today for our community — a wall of unity.”

WHEN: Saturday, January 16, 2021 from 11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Work on the wall will continue each Saturday over the next six to eight weeks until the project is complete.

WHERE: Wingfield Street, near the corner of 12 th Avenue South, in Lake Worth Beach. The Unity Wall extends almost 4 blocks on Winfield Street in the Osborne Community in the city of Lake Worth Beach.