Boston Common honors MLK with first new memorial in decades

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.