Speak Out!
Dr. King’s Memorial Statue
Tue, 06/17/2008 - 12:41 | Civil Rights
The proposed design of the statue planned for the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial has triggered controversy. Some people question the selection of the lead sculptor for the project.
Some think the statue's design should be reworked because it's too confrontational:
In a 13-page critique, Ed Dwight, a sculptor who has created seven King memorials, called Lei's proposed statue a "shrinking, shriveled inadequate personage."Others feel the statue correctly depicts Dr. King's legacy:
Isaac Newton Farris, Jr., president and chief executive officer of the King Center in Atlanta and nephew of the civil rights leader, argued that the planned statue correctly depicts his legacy. "My uncle was a strong and confrontational figure," Farris said. "His confrontation helped us to complete what the original founders intended when this country was formed, by confronting our problems with race in this nation. "Everything that is strong and confrontational does not mean hate and violence. My uncle was very strong and confrontational with the weapon of love and nonviolence."What do you think of the design of Dr. King's memorial statue?
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Comments
TRAITOR!
It's apparent, Isaac Newton Farris, Jr., is trying to save any money to go into his bank account, allowing a racist CHINESE artist to do Dr. King's Scupture! It's a crying shame it all comes down to MONEY, instead of CULTURE, respect and geniune CIVIL RIGHTS! Whereby if Dr. King had marched in China, he would have been ARRESTED, as he was in the US, but would have been JAILED forever in China!
To ALLOW a Chinese artist to do Dr. Kings Scupture, is an INSULT beyond ALL INSULTS!
Well... I'm a little torn on
Well... I'm a little torn on this issue. We all know that a part of King's legacy is about equality. It would be wrong for us to honor King and feel as though we had to exclude ANY artist's proposal simply because he was not African American.
However; we do have to realize that it would be a very powerful and symbolic gesture to commission an African American to create a national monument of one of America's greatest African American leaders.
I think about benefits. How beneficial would it be for a black parent to be able to take a black child to a national monument of a black leader and say a black man designed it? It would be very powerful. It would be a moment that we all could be proud of.
I think of how the Jewish community is notorious for only using Jewish business people to acquire their goods and services. We are not so committed. I know that their are African American business owners that are not good business people. There are many reasons why we often fall short in our quality of service. However; instead of abandoning the idea all together, perhaps we should learn how to help give constructive criticism in order to help our black businesses grow.
It's a serious issue that needs serious attention if we are ever to get to a place where blacks feel comfortable circulating their dollars in the black community.
Regarding the pose that the artist chose, I think that it's not what I would have chosen. But of course, I wasn't in the room when idea was pitched. I have seen many pictures of Dr. King in my lifetime. In my opinion it doesn't project his dignity and personable nature.
I just viewed a photo of the
I just viewed a photo of the Martin Luther King’s Memorial Sculpture. First let me say that it is absolutely beauuutiful. A work of art. But it is true, the actual stance of the statue is confrontational. That stance was not Martin Luther King and neither does it reflect his legacy and those who were born and lived through that time would tell you that. Martin Luther King was a man of peace and non-violence. So to depict him with a vision of standing in a confrontational stance like some gang member does NOT reflect the history of the man who used peace and non-violence to bring about the changes that have occurred up until today because of him. Nor as compared to say the Black Panthers. I was 13 years old and I remember what happened, the riots and I remember when things began to open up and change. He always marched with the people “arm-in-arm” peaceably to protest racism. His approach to racism peace and that stance, his arms crossed in an intimidating manner like that and his facial expression on the statue needs to be corrected to reflect the truth, not a lie. He was not like that. He knew that if he came at the issues of racism confrontationally that he would be rejected. By coming to all with peace and truth he knew that more than many would listen. And history has been proven because of that man, he was right. So change that sculpture to reflect HIS history of peace and non-violence properly otherwise you bring disgrace to a man of dignity, class and brilliance.
One more thing, Ed Dwight
One more thing, Ed Dwight sounds a bit jealous to me. He has created seven memorials of King in the past and no one asked him to be a part of this project. Now come on... do you think his words would be kind? Or he would be leaping with praise. Do you think Mr. Dwight would be unbiased?
I think the statue of Martin
I think the statue of Martin Luther King looks great! It shows Dr. King's strength of endurance. With his arms folded; it's not showing his humility side, it’s almost like he is saying, yeah I said, now what! It looks as though he is stepping out of himself to become a different man of purpose. The only question I have is: "Where is his feet"? All the protesting this man had done in his lifetime, he deserves his feet!
I hate to say this and really- I'm saying this as gentle and modest as I can, with hopes of not offending anyone. Doing business with black people is a challenge! In my experience over the years as a consumer, my concerns has/still are this: either the prices are too high, or the customer service is damaged. So maybe that’s why they didn’t prefer a black artist... Just my opinion.
Ninety five percent of the time our people miss out on business opportunities simply because of poor business etiquette.
When you look at the work of this artist, it's good, it's just Dr. King -to me- needs some feet! Now let’s get him some feet please Tavis. Did they run out of monies?