Montgomery Reveals City’s First Life-Size Statue Of Martin Luther King Jr.

The statue will stand close to the newly-erected one of Rosa Parks.

Alabama is now paying major homage to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in its capital city of Montgomery. The birthplace of the famous Bus Boycott has unveiled its first life-size statue of the famed activist.

Community members gathered at the Legacy Plaza in Montgomery in June to see the Equal Justice Initiative reveal the statue. This new work will stand close to the city’s recently established statue of Rosa Parks. King’s daughter, Bernice, also took part in the unveiling ceremony.

The artwork was sculpted by Basil Watson, a native of King’s hometown. The Atlanta-based artist wanted viewers to take away a sense of hope from his creation, just as many have from King’s speeches.

“We can’t build by destroying,” explained Watson about his work to WSFA. “We have to build by building…have to look at the positives and have a positive outlook on where we’re going and where we’re coming from.”

King was a prominent fixture in Montgomery as he led the fight for racial equality in the nation. In the southern city specifically, King wrote a 1958 memoir titled Stride Toward Freedom on his experience during the bus boycott.

He illuminated their cause while serving as president of the Montgomery Improvement Association, which was in charge of the movement. According to those currently in Montgomery, King’s place next to Parks, considered the mother of the boycott, felt long overdue.

At the ceremony, his daughter spoke of the statue’s symbolic encouragement. She hopes others continue striving for the same values of peace, justice, and equality that her father fought for.

“We need to heighten that in our nation in order to move us toward a more just, humane, and equitable and peaceful world for all of God’s people,” King said.

The Equal Justice Initiative also hopes to honor others who fought for civil rights across the nation. In the upcoming months, the late U.S. Rep. John Lewis will have a statue of his own at Legacy Plaza.

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