Boston Common honors MLK with first new memorial in decades
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The bronze sculpture paying tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. makes its public debut today, just in time for MLK Day.
Why it matters: It’s the first new memorial in Boston Common in decades.
- King gave a speech there on April 23, 1965, during which he highlighted the North's problem with de facto segregation in housing and schools.
The intrigue: Conceptual artist Hank Willis Thomas designed “The Embrace,” which was erected between the Brewer Fountain and the Common visitor's center last year.
- It depicts King’s hug with his wife, Coretta Scott King, after he won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. The couple met and went to school in Boston.
What they're saying: "Scale and magnitude is one of the things that makes this monument awe-inspiring when you see it," Imari Paris Jeffries, executive director of Embrace Boston, the group behind the statue, told WBUR.
What’s happening: The installation of the memorial starts at 1pm.
- Before that, a procession of interfaith organizations will march to the statue from Central Reform Temple/Emmanuel Church at 15 Newbury Street, at noon.
By the numbers:
📏 22 feet: The height of the bronze sculpture.
🪨 38,000 pounds: The sculpture’s weight.
🧩 609 pieces of bronze make up the sculpture.
- The surrounding plaza’s diamond-shaped pavers include more than 1,300 granite stone pieces in six different finishes. They are meant to mimic African American quilt-making traditions.
⏳ 30 years: The last time a monument was installed in Boston Common.
🎙️22,000: The estimated number of people who attended King’s speech in Boston Common.