The city of Boston unveiled a new memorial sculpture in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King on Friday. The reception for the 22-foot statue has been decidedly mixed — ranging from enthusiastic plaudits to consternation and outright jeers.
The monument, by artist Hank Willis Thomas, is called “The Embrace;” it is meant to honor the relationship between the Kings. It was specifically inspired by a 1964 photograph of the couple hugging after King had been announced as the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.
When Willis Thomas’ work was announced as a finalist in 2018, he emphasized that a physical embrace also offered a sense of spiritual and emotional protection. The finished piece is a 19-ton bronze work made up of over 600 pieces welded together. Below the statue, the plaza is decorated with diamond-shaped stones that evoke African-American quilting tradition.
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