Metro Roundup: Keeping Aniah’s memory alive

For the first time in two decades, Angela Harris wasn’t able to have a joint birthday celebration on June 22 with her daughter, Aniah Blanchard.

Blanchard would have turned 20 this year, but the Homewood native was kidnapped and killed last fall.

Blanchard won’t be forgotten, though. Instead of having a traditional birthday celebration, Blanchard’s closest friends, family and former teammates honored her with a bench dedication ceremony at Patriot Park. Now, on the park’s main circular path, visitors can sit on a bench with a plaque that reads, “In Loving Memory of Aniah Haley Blanchard,” with a blue heart in honor of Blanchard’s favorite color.

Before Blanchard and her friends could drive, they would always walk over to Patriot Park to hang out, said Hannah Crocker, one of her close friends.

“So it had to be here — it couldn’t be anywhere else,” she said.

Celebrating her and Blanchard’s birthdays without Blanchard there was hard, Angela said, but she was happy to be surrounded by Blanchard’s closest friends and family.

“Every one of y’all that’s here — she loved every one of y’all,” Angela said. “You made her life happy. You gave her a life when she was here, and I’m so thankful it was with y’all.”

The bench will always be there, and that makes it special, she said.

“This is her seat and your seat,” she said. “We can come here and talk about Aniah. If anyone wants to come get me, let’s come sit on Aniah’s bench, and let’s talk.

“We can come sit, talk about her and talk about the good times. Because we need that. We need to always be talking about the fun, the laughing.”

Aniah’s stepfather, Walt Harris, laughed and said he will be at Aniah’s bench every 22nd of the month.

“We will never forget this,” he said. “Thank you for embracing her, embracing us. We’ll never forget this day.”

The Harrises had something else to celebrate on June 22, too: it was the official launch date of Aniah’s Heart, a nonprofit organization in honor of Blanchard.

Aniah’s Heart’s primary goal will be to educate the community about personal safety habits. The nonprofit will teach people how to protect themselves and how to be aware of their surroundings. These tips will be geared toward all types of people, Angela said, including men, women and children.

It will also be a way to give back to the community. Because Blanchard was a softball player, the organization will collect money and athletic equipment to give back to those in need. For example, if parents of a young athlete have trouble paying sports fees, the organization can help with these costs. This will start with local athletes, but Angela said she plans to extend this effort beyond Homewood.

“Aniah planned on being a coach, a teacher,” Angela said through tears. “I know how much we struggled for our kids to play sports, and sometimes we didn’t have this money to pay for their fees and things like that. I want to be able to give back.”

These are two examples of how the organization will start, but Angela said she has a lot of goals for where it can go. Eventually, she would like to put together a search team to aid other families with a missing loved one. She would also like to educate the community about biracial families and host support groups for parents of slain children.

Angela started thinking about the nonprofit organization when Blanchard was missing, she said.

“I just had so much time to think about a lot of things,” she said. “I knew that no matter what, I was going to always fight for her.”

After Blanchard’s body was found Nov. 25, Angela knew she had to do something in her daughter’s name, she said.

“Aniah would have done so much good in the world, and I’m going to do it for her and with her,” she said. “It’s like my project with her.”

For now, Angela is managing the nonprofit organization from home, but she said she wants to eventually house the organization in a building. This building would be a safe place for people, she said.

For more information or to donate to Aniah’s Heart, visit facebook.com/aniahsheart22.

“I’m excited about it,” Angela said. “I want to be living for her and living to help other people.”