Founder of King Boston talks about ‘The Embrace’ memorial in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King

BOSTON — “The need for the second emancipation proclamation and declaring all segregated sedatives is unconstitutional and illegal,” are just some of the words said by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the man and icon behind the civil rights movement.

Those words can be heard in a speech by Dr. King, who addressed a crowd in Roxbury on April 22, 1965.

Dr. King and his wife Coretta Scott King’s legacy continues on in Boston.

“They met as young students in Boston," said Paul English, the Founder of King Boston. “He was studying at Boston University for his PHD, she was at the New England conservatory of music studying music. Their love story began here, in our city, and their work."

English helped raise $6 million to build “The Embrace Memorial,” a way to memorialize Dr. King and Coretta Scott King.

“It’s based on a famous photo of Martin and Coretta after he won the Nobel Peace Prize of them embracing, the statue is an abstract,” said English.

The memorial will sit on the Boston Common, next to the band stand. It will be 22-feet high and people will be allowed to stand under it, take pictures and understand King’s work.

“It’s the arms of Martin and Coretta embrace, you just, literally see their shoulders, and their arms, hugging each other,” said English.

English says that, in our current environment and after what happened to George Floyd, we need to send a strong message to the Boston Community.

“When I watched the George Floyd video, I went between fear and rage. Fear that I can’t believe this stuff is still happening,” said English.

English says his goal is to educate the public.

"How can we as equals work together to make Boston a better city, especially now,” said English.

This summer, organizers will start with phase one, where they figure out the construction process. The memorial is expected to be placed on the common in 2021. The message here, is to build beloved community, the famous words Dr. King used.

For more information about the King Boston project click here.

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