/ A statue of Martin Luther King Jr. is pictured across the street from the Illinois State Capitol.
Members of the state’s task force on statues and monuments discussed ways to relocate the statue of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and improve the statue’s image in the context of King’s legacy in Illinois.
Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White testified Wednesday during the task force hearing that the image of King reflected in the statue does not properly reflect one of the heroes of the civil rights movement. White met King dozens of times, including while White was a student at Alabama State University.
Members of the state’s task force on statues and monuments discussed ways to relocate the Springfield statue of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and improve the statue’s
State task force considers redesigning, moving MLK monument This statue of Martin Luther King Jr. is across the street from the state Capitol in Springfield. Secretary of State Jesse White testified before a statue review committee Wednesday that he would like to see a new statue of King in a more prominent position on Capitol grounds. Jerry Nowicki/Capitol News Illinois
Updated 6/9/2021 5:18 PM
SPRINGFIELD Members of the state s task force on statues and monuments discussed ways to relocate the statue of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and improve the statue s image in the context of his legacy in Illinois.
Walter Bailey, the original owner of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, left Room 306 vacant after Martin Luther King Jr. was killed on its balcony on April 4, 1968. Now preserved at the National Civil Rights Museum, the site of the social justice leader s final moments is both a beacon and a reminder. It speaks to its visitors, asking them to remember.
Near the vintage cars underneath the commemorative wreath that adorns the balcony where King lingered before an assassin s bullet struck him, I stood silently and reflected on my first trip there five years ago.
That spiritual experience is one I ve had at George Floyd Square, too particularly on a visit Friday morning just hours after city officials had commenced the predawn dismantling of a place that s become a refuge. It s appropriate and necessary to question Mayor Jacob Frey s commitment to opening the intersection while preserving the site and its symbolism as a phased reconnection unfolds because Thursday s act follows the p