A statue honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his wife, Coretta Scott King, has been slammed as the “ugliest thing.”
Titled “Embrace,” the 20-foot high statue was unveiled in Boston on Saturday, January 14, in the U.S.’ oldest city park, Boston Common.
Weighing 309 pounds, the statue sits on the site where the civil rights leader gave a speech on April 23, 1965. It depicts the moment he hugged his wife after winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.
Michael Ochs Archives/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
Conceptual artist Hank Willis Thomas designed the sculpture, which shows the arms and shoulders of the historic couple.
“This work is a reminder that each of us has in us the capacity to be either of those two people or actually something inspired by and more influential,” he wrote on Instagram.
King’s son, Martin Luther King III, and his daughter, Yolanda Renee King, 14, attended the unveiling, where the teenager gave a passionate speech.
But not all of those related to the family were happy with final product, which was believed to have cost about $10 million and was five years in the making.
Scott’s cousin, Seneca Scott, slammed the statue saying it was “masturbatory.”
“When it came out, a little boy pointed out — ‘That’s a p****!’ and everyone was like, ‘Yo, that’s a big old d***, man’,” he told Compact.
“If you had showed that statute to anyone in the ‘hood, they’d have been like, ‘No, absolutely not’.”
Seneca added: “Ten million dollars were wasted to create a masturbatory metal homage to my legendary family members — one of the all-time greatest American families.”
It seems many others agreed with the 43 year old and argued it looked like a phallus.
“WTF – this city continues to deliver MILD racial progress, performative actions and TEMPERED attempts at inclusion – the #MLK statue looks like a large p****. Yes, I’ll go see the lg p****, but it’s still a p****,” tweeted one person.
Another added: “I know the design came from a photo of MLK and Coretta hugging each other. But why not have a sculpture of their faces instead? We see Paul Revere’s face in 2 locations. Yet for MLK, we get arms? I live here, and I’m honestly disappointed, Boston.”
And a third commented: “I’m sorry but this new MLK sculpture in Boston is the ugliest thing I’ve ever seen.”
Newsweek reached out to Thomas for comment.
The statue was paid for by a combination of private and public funding and required approval from the Boston Art Commission and Boston Landmarks Commission.
King had a long history with the Boston, including obtaining his Ph.D. in theology from Boston University in 1955. He also met Scott in the city, when she was studying at the New England Conservatory of Music.
The artist explained that the sculpture was supposed to be interactive and people can stand beneath it to “be in the heart of their embrace.”
“If you reach out to another person, share your love and actually do something that you believe creates opportunity for those who don’t have the same ones that you do,” Thomas told NBC News.
The statue was unveiled ahead of Martin Luther King Jr. Day on January 16, a national holiday to commemorate his birthday.
While he was born on January 15, MLK Day is always celebrated on the third Monday of January— the closest to the civil rights activist’s birthday. In 2023, this happens to be January 16.
The civil rights activist was critical in helping to end racial segregation in workplaces, on public transport, and in schools by demanding racial equality through campaigning, marches and iconic speeches in the 1950s and 1960s.
