When I first saw the designs, I didn't know what to think, but I was leaning toward not liking it. But I figured it would grow on me. And, over time, each time I saw a rendering, I realized it had.
Then, a week or so ago, I got to see the real thing.
It's weird, a bit. But weirdly beautiful.
I like it.
It's called "The Embrace," and it's a monument to Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King, who met in Boston when he was a doctoral student at Boston University and she was studying voice at The New England Conservatory.
"The Embrace" is based on a photograph of the couple, well, embracing.
I'm sure that there will be some who roll their eyes at the thought of commemorating the Kings' love for each other, given the revelations that he had dozens of affairs while they were married. But revelations of the seamier side of his life shouldn't be used used to obliterate MLK's legacy. He was a brilliant leader of the Civil Rights movement who embraced non-violence - and was accused of being an Uncle Tom because of this embrace. King repeatedly put his life on the line, and, not yet 40, he died violently, gunned down by a racist assassin.
There are a few quotes that come to mind when Martin Luther King's name is mentioned.
The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.
I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.
Free at last, Free at last, Thank God almighty we are free at last.
Still hoping on all three of those, so I'll end with a fourth, lesser known quote:
Always fight with love.
Think I'll mosey on over to the Boston Common a little later to get a better look at "The Embrace."
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I moseyed on over on Saturday. When I saw The Embrace unveiled, up close, I decided I really like it.
I like it too.
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