Martin Luther King Jr.’s Son Speaks Out Against Controversial New Monument That Has Attracted National Attention!

Martin Luther King III, the son of civil rights leaders Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King stated on Monday that he is “happy” and “touched” by a new monument dedicated to his parents in Boston, despite some reservations about the artwork.

KEY FACTS

1. In an interview with CNN, King said that he was “moved by the overwhelmingness, the large capacity of the sculpture,” and that he thought the artist, Hank Willis Thomas, “did a great job.”
2. The abstract sculpture, called “The Embrace,” is a picture of a hug the Kings shared in 1964. It only shows their arms and hands. King said that even though the monument didn’t show his parents’ faces, it shows something that brings people together.
3. King liked the work because it showed both his father and his mother, who was still well-known decades after her husband was killed. “Many monuments are just about dad,” he said.
4. On Monday, his sister Bernice tweeted, “As you commemorate #MLKDay, please remember my mother, as well… Without #CorettaScottKing, there would be no MLK Day.”

BIG NUMBER

22 feet. “The Embrace” is that tall. The bronze piece of art was shown for the first time on Friday. It is now in the historic Boston Common. In 2019, Thomas was chosen out of 126 applicants to make the piece. When they were students in Boston, the Kings met. In 1965, Martin Luther King Jr. led one of the first marches for civil rights in the area, which ended at the Common. About 20,000 people marched that day.

KEY BACKGROUND

Since it was unveiled last week, people have had very different feelings about the statue. Adrian Walker, a columnist for the Boston Globe, said that because of its size, the monument is “stunning and impressive up close in a way that photographs have a hard time showing.”

This could be why many people on social media have complained about and made fun of the design, saying it’s hard to tell what you’re looking at and what the limbs are doing from certain angles. Rasheed Walters, a columnist for the Boston Herald, Said The Statue was “Ugly” and “not a good way to honor Dr. King and Mrs. King.” Martin Luther King Jr. Day was on Monday, one day after what would have been King’s 94th birthday.

CRUCIAL QUOTE

Martin Luther King III told CNN, “It’s subjective, everyone has their opinions, But opinions are like butts. Everybody’s got one.”