BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — After years of planning, a memorial in Boston is edging closer to becoming a reality.
The statue, called “The Embrace,” has been in the works since 2016, and will honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his wife Coretta Scott King in a location where the couple met and studied together.
The couple met in the early 1950s when Dr. King was studying at Boston University and Coretta Scott King was studying at the New England Conservatory of Music. They later got married on June 18, 1953.
According to the website for King Boston, the nonprofit behind the statue, the project is one of several aimed at making a "call to action" for racial justice and equality in the city of Boston.
"The [Embrace] memorial is intended to inspire visitors to reflect on the values of racial and economic justice that both espoused," the website read. "Through the memorial and related programming, King Boston envisions an inclusive and equitable Boston for all."
Embrace is priced at $9.5 million, and will be 22 feet high. The design depicts four arms embracing, based on a photo of the couple hugging after Dr. King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
It will be located on Boston Common near the site of a 1965 rally and march led by Martin Luther King Jr., that came a day after he spoke in favor of desegregating schools at a joint legislative session at the Massachusetts State House.
The project is expected to begin in March, with an anticipated installation date in October of 2022.
Dr. King would have turned 92 years old in 2021.
WBZ NewsRadio's Shari Small (@ShariSmallNews) reports.
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(Photo: Getty Images)
Written by Rachel Armany