District approves fundraising effort for mural at Billy Mills Middle School

photo by: Associated Press

Billy Mills is pictured after winning the 10,000-meter Olympic race at the National Stadium in Tokyo, Oct. 14, 1964. (AP Photo)

The Lawrence school district has approved a fundraising effort for a mural to be painted in the Billy Mills Middle School commons.

The mural is to help commemorate the renaming of South Middle School for Mills, the former Haskell Institute and University of Kansas student and 1964 Olympic gold medalist, said Carole Cadue-Blackwood, who led last year’s effort to rename the school. The name change became official July 1.

Lawrence artist Isaiah Stewart, of the Lakota and Mohawk nations, has been commissioned to paint the 5-by-33-foot mural for the school’s commons. The mural is expected to be finished before a Nov. 3 ceremony marking the renaming of the school. Donations can be made online through gofundme.com/billy-mills-middle-school-mural or by mailing a check payable to Lawrence Public Schools to Lawrence USD 497, Attn: Finance Office, 110 McDonald Drive, Lawrence, KS 66044.

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