Ahead of Martin Luther King Junior Day, a new statue was unveiled at Boston Commons titled “The Embrace.” The statue depicts the arms of Martin Luther King Jr. and his wife Coretta Scott King locked in an embrace (hence the title) after MLK Jr.’s Nobel Peace Prize win in 1964. “The Embrace” was designed by artist Hank Willis Thomas and funded by nonprofit organization Embrace Boston. The instillation includes the statue as well as a patio featuring the names of 65 Boston locals involved in the Civil Rights Movement. One of those names is John D. O’Bryant who was the first African American to serve on Boston’s School Committee and later worked at Northeastern University as the Vice President of Student Affairs.
“The Embrace” was unveiled at a ceremony in the Commons on January 13th, with a small group including family members of those listed on the patio and reporters. Thomas shed some light on his thought process surrounding the design of the sculpture writing, “‘By highlighting the act of embrace, this sculpture shifts the emphasis from a singular hero worship to collective action, imploring those curious enough to investigate closer,’” according to an article by Sean Cotter of the Boston Herald.
The statue has received mixed reviews. While many applauded the statue and what it symbolizes, others were not pleased by design choices made by the artist. In 1955, MLK Jr. led a march from Roxbury to Boston Commons and made a speech in the Commons, so the location of the statue is definitely fitting. However, many have stepped forward saying they are not pleased with the statue and feel as though underlying messages of racism and sex have invaded the design meant to honor one of the most poignant men in the history of the United States.
Many have pointed out that at certain angles, it appears less like a hug and more like a sexual act. Seneca Scott, cousin of Coretta Scott King, was quoted stating, “The new Boston sculpture ‘honoring’ Dr. Martin Luther King and his wife, Coretta Scott King, looks more like a pair of hands hugging a beefy penis than a special moment shared by the iconic couple,” and called the sculpture “racist and classist,” as reported by the Boston Herald.
The article also included comments from Karen Attiah, a columnist for the Washington Post. As reported by Cotter for the Boston Herald, Attiah wrote: “It doesn’t sit well with me that Martin Luther King and Coretta Scott King are reduced to body parts — just their arms. Not their faces — their expressions… In making MLK a whitewashed symbol of love, the Embrace statue is both safe AND grotesque. Says little about the man, a lot about America … And yes, I’ll say it. From another angle, the statue for real looks like one person is performing disembodied oral sex…”.
With Boston’s history of racism, it was extremely important that the creators of this statue got the design right in the eyes of those who knew King and worked with him. So, to hear so many comments from people disheartened by the statue and the design choices made, I wonder: were any family members consulted or asked to see the statue in a prototype? If so, since many people noticed a sexual aspect to the statue post-unveiling, why was it not seen when it was being designed? After all, millions of dollars were spent on this design, which most likely passed through the hands of many who were counted on to notice.
While “The Embrace” was most likely created with the best intentions, in order to execute a proper and appropriate tribute to Dr. King, more work should have been done to assure that this statue said exactly what it was intended to say. While I believe the message behind it is beautiful, I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to walk by the statue again and not look for the hidden, sexual aspect it appears to contain. This unfortunately diminishes the desired impact and distracts from the most vital parts of MLK Jr.’s legacy. Artist Hank Willis Thomas responded to the mixed opinions about his sculpture in an article by Eli Rosenberg and Mike Pescaro for NBC Boston, stating, “Much like the Vietnam War Memorial, where there was a little bit of — maybe a lot of controversy, when it came out, but it’s also now one of the greatest-regarded memorials in the country…I hope that is the story of The Embrace.”