The effort Twitter by Michelle Duster to create support for the monument gained new momentum in 2018 when the activist, educator, author, prison abolitionist and determined patroness Mariame Kaba and Pulitzer-prize winner, MacArthur Foundation Genius Awardee, writer, speaker and journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones began advocating for the projects' completion. After a social media push by Kaba and Hannah-Jones, a total of over 4,300 people donated money to get the monument built. The fundraising push coincided with Wells-Barnett's July 16th birthday.
