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Photo by Erin Nelson. Starnes Media
Aniah Blanchard Dedication
Angela and Walt Harris, parents of the late Aniah Blanchard, sit on the park bench dedicated in memory of Blanchard at Patriot Park on Monday, June 22, 2020. Photo by Erin Nelson.
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Photo by Erin Nelson. Starnes Media
Aniah Blanchard Dedication
Lizbeth Ceros-Gomez, a close friend of the late Aniah Blanchard, speaks during a dedication for Blanchard at Patriot Park on Monday, June 22, 2020. The family of Blanchard gathered with friends and members of the community Monday as a bench at Patriot Park was revealed in Blanchard’s memory. Photo by Erin Nelson.
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Photo by Erin Nelson. Starnes Media
Aniah Blanchard Dedication
Angela Harris, mother of the late Aniah Blanchard, speaks during a dedication for her daughter at Patriot Park on Monday, June 22, 2020. The family of Blanchard gathered with friends and members of the community Monday as a bench at Patriot Park was revealed in Blanchard’s memory. Photo by Erin Nelson.
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Photo by Erin Nelson. Starnes Media
Aniah Blanchard Dedication
Angela Harris, mother of the late Aniah Blanchard, wipes a tear from her eye during a dedication for her daughter at Patriot Park on Monday, June 22, 2020. The family of Blanchard gathered with friends and members of the community Monday as a bench at Patriot Park was revealed in Blanchard’s memory. Photo by Erin Nelson.
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Photo by Erin Nelson. Starnes Media
Aniah Blanchard Dedication
Angela Harris, mother of the late Aniah Blanchard, and Aylah Harris, 7, the youngest of the Harris family, remove the sheet to reveal the park bench dedicated in memory of Blanchard at Patriot Park on Monday, June 22, 2020. Photo by Erin Nelson.
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Photo by Erin Nelson. Starnes Media
Aniah Blanchard Dedication
Angela Harris, mother of the late Aniah Blanchard, and Aylah Harris, 7, the youngest of the Harris family, sit on the park bench dedicated in memory of Blanchard at Patriot Park on Monday, June 22, 2020. Photo by Erin Nelson.
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Photo by Erin Nelson. Starnes Media
Aniah Blanchard Dedication
The family of the late Aniah Blanchard, gathered with friends and members of the community at Patriot Park as a bench was revealed in Blanchard’s memory on Monday, June 22, 2020. Photo by Erin Nelson.
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Photo by Erin Nelson. Starnes Media
Aniah Blanchard Dedication
The family of the late Aniah Blanchard, gathered with friends and members of the community at Patriot Park as a bench was revealed in Blanchard’s memory on Monday, June 22, 2020. Photo by Erin Nelson.
Homewood native Aniah Blanchard didn't get to celebrate her 20th birthday on June 22 — a birthday she usually celebrates with her mother, Angela Harris.
Instead, her friends, former teammates and family honored the day by dedicating a Patriot Park bench in Blanchard's memory.
"This is her seat and your seat," Harris said at the dedication ceremony. "We can come here and talk about Aniah. If anyone wants to come get me, let's come sit on Aniah's bench and 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."
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.
Funds for the event were raised within hours of event organizers posting the fundraiser to social media. Many of those who donated were Homewood youth, such as Blanchard's former classmates. They donated whatever they could, even if it was just $5-10, said Rachel Estes, who helped organize the event.
Blanchard, a Homewood High School graduate, went missing Oct. 23, 2019. After the community spent a month searching for Blanchard and hanging baby blue ribbons on mailboxes across Homewood, her body was found in Shorter on Nov. 25.
"As the days go by, it gets harder and harder to accept the reality that she's not here," said Lizbeth Ceros-Gomez, a close friend of Blanchard, at the ceremony. "Aniah has taught me a lot: to live life to the fullest, to rejoice in the good and the bad ... and to take advantage of every day. She has taught me to love and to laugh and to continue being the light in the darkness that we're living in."
"Twenty years never looked so good," Ceros-Gomez said as she attempted to stifle her tears. "So we're sending you all our love, Aniah. Cheers to you."
