By the time you read this, a new monument will have been publicly unveiled on Boston Common at the beginning of this Martin Luther King Day weekend.
The statue is called, “The Embrace,” and the artist, Hank Williams Thomas says he was inspired by an embrace of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr and his wife, Coretta Scott King, after the announcement of King’s Nobel Peace Prize win in 1964. The 22-foot tall sculpture depicts interlocking arms held in an embrace.
The non-profit organization “Embrace Boston,” which works to continue the Kings’ work in Boston oversaw its construction. Boston as a city, of course, was a formative place for the couple. Martin Luther King was studying philosophy and ethics at Boston University while Coretta Scott was studying opera at the New England Conservatory of Music. They met here, dated here, and then married, raising 4 children. After King’s assassination, Coretta continued the work to dismantle racism for 40 more years.
Thomas said that he intended to show both the power and the intimacy of the Kings as a couple. Another aspect that strikes me is how unusual it is to see a statue that acknowledges that progress is never made by a single individual – it requires more than one person to make a positive difference in the world. And we do it best when we work together.
I’m looking forward to seeing the statue in person!
In Christ,
Pastor Jen