After years of planning, the city of Cincinnati will unveil a new memorial to Martin Luther King, Jr. in Avondale this weekend.
The memorial includes a 6-and-a-half-foot tall bronze statue of Dr. King, surrounded by six stained glass panels representing King's six pillars of nonviolence.
Assistant to the City Manager Javarious Jackson has been leading the project. He says one of those stained glass panels is dedicated to Cincinnati's own Civil Rights leaders, such as the Rev. L. V. Booth, the Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth, and the Rev. Damon Lynch Jr.
"Our goal was to create something that not only engages the community, that folks that would visit the memorial, it will get them to start thinking," Jackson tells WVXU. "But we also wanted to create something that unifies the community and celebrates that shared history and future of the region."
Houston-based RE:site designed the memorial. Locals were invited to submit photos depicting the city's connection to the Civil Rights movement and Dr. King.
The statue and plaza replace a previous memorial that was relocated during construction of the I-71 interchange.
Jackson says Saturday's unveiling ceremony will be an all-day celebration.
"We wanted to create a space that was family friendly and something that the community can fellowship with one another. There's going to be music, live entertainment, and we pulled out all the stops to make sure that this celebration is one that the the community will remember," he said.
Event details
The event is on Saturday, Aug. 22 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The memorial is located 3100 Reading Road, at the intersection of Martin Luther King Drive.
Planned speakers include Mayor Aftab Pureval and City Manager Sheryl Long.
"We're going to do an official unveiling of the bronze statue, and then we're going to turn it over to a community celebration," Jackson said. "There's going to be free food, bounce houses, activities for our youth and kids."
Free parking will be available in a lot directly across from the memorial site. A shuttle will be available to transport visitors to the memorial.
Portions of Reading Road will be closed during the event; visitors should enter the parking lot from Harvey Ave. instead of Reading.
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