Memorial Announced To Honor MLK, Coretta Scott King In City Where They Met
By Jason Hall
January 15, 2021
A new memorial will honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King will be erected in Boston, where the couple and studied in the 1950s.
King Boston, a privately funded local organization preserving the legacy of Dr. King and Coretta Scott King, announced a $9.5 million project which will include the manufacturing of a 22-foot-high bronze statue depicting four arms embracing set to begin in March, the Associated Press reports.
The organization said "The Embrace" memorial will be one of the United States' largest dedicated to racial equality and be erected on Boston Common near the site of a 1965 rally led by Dr. King once the project is finished late next year.
Many Americans are unaware that Martin Luther King Jr. spent some of his formative years in Boston. A new monument to MLK and Coretta Scott King aims to change that. https://t.co/v3VUqUEuPu
— AP Eastern US (@APEastRegion) January 15, 2021
The announcement came on what would have been Dr. King's 92nd birthday on Friday (January 15.)
King Boston's executive director Imari Paris Jeffries said the group hopes the new public monuments spread positive action and awareness in the wake of the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, as well as several other instances of racial injustice last year. The organization also plans to launch an annual event in which it will explore racial issues and equity in the future.
“It’s not only how symbols and monuments represent this commitment to equity and inclusion,” Jeffries said via the AP. “It’s also about how research, data and policy work to find new solutions, and how we use the arts and humanities to ground us.”
Photo: Getty Images