Without a doubt, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is best known in American minds for his “I Have a Dream” speech. There is so much more to him than that. It is more to him than the March on Washington—which, when referenced, tends to leave out the “Jobs and Freedom” part. Weeks before it, John F. Kennedy addressed the nation about a new legislation for that. In it, a guarantee of equal access to public facilities. Also, ending segregation in schools and federal protection of the right to vote. Hours after Kennedy’s announcement, a white supremacist shot and killed Medgar Evers. He was a prominent and well-known member of the NAACP. As death stalked King, as it happened all around him, he gave a speech in Detroit, Michigan. His answer to it was “If a man has not found something worth dying for, he is not fit to live.”
That legislation is the Civil Rights Act of 1964, for which Evers, Kennedy, King, and many others gave their lives. Without it, our lives would be very different and way harder. The United States, for sure, would not be as lit as it is. It outlaws discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day honors and celebrates his life and achievements. It is a federal holiday observed on the third Monday of January each year. King’s birthday is the 15th. It’s more than a “day off” from school or work. It is an American tradition to use this day to reflect on his legacy and the values and principles he stood for. Among those are equality, justice, and nonviolent activism. Another is an act of kindness.
New York-born artist William Tarr (1925 – 2006) offered that act in the form of art. His 30-foot cubed sculpture is in Manhattan’s Lincoln Square neighborhood. It is an area known for opera, ballet, symphony, and the world-renowned Lincoln Center. But you can walk by Tarr’s MLK Memorial anytime and see it for free. It is located at 122 Amsterdam, New York, NY 10023 (between West 65th and 66th Street).
Tarr’s sculpture stands in the plaza of Martin Luther King Jr. Educational Complex. Completed by 1973, it is a 30’ by 30’ by 30’ structure weighing 63 tons of welded Mayari R (or weathered) steel. It is one of the largest of its kind in the world. And as far as memorials, it is hands down the most creative and best one we have in New York dedicated to MLK to date.
It is adorned with timeless shapes and patterns out of steel but also letters and numbers. Like “CSK” for American author, Coretta Scott King, his wife and biggest supporter. “12/10/64,” the day MLK accepted the Nobel Peace Prize. There is the initials “JJ” for the Rev. Jesse Jackson. “RDA” for Rev. Ralph D. Abernathy, a close friend and mentor to King. He helped to organize the Montgomery bus boycott in Alabama. The Southern Christian Leadership Conference in Atlanta, also. That is what the letters “SCLC” are for.
Facing the school is a quote from one of King’s sermons, “Drum Major Instinct.” King instructs his supporters to, “say that I was a drum major for justice. Say that I was a drum major for peace. I was a drum major for righteousness…shallow things will not matter.” Tarr’s act of kindness is like the kind he offers in his instructional magic books. They’re “Lessons in Sleight of Hand” that you “learn-by-picture.” Besides being a veteran and a self-taught abstract sculptor, he was a professional magician.
In King’s sermon, he continues, “Tell them not to mention that I have a Nobel Peace Prize—that isn’t important. Tell them not to mention that I have three or four hundred other awards—that’s not important. Tell them not to mention where I went to school.” Tarr honors King by his quote selection. “I want to be on your right or your left side, not for any selfish reason. I want to be on your right or your left side, not [for] political kingdom or ambition. But…there in love and justice and truth and commitment to others, so that we can make of this old world a new world.”
Then, there is an arrow pointing up to “4/4/68,” wow—a very powerful message. And you can only receive it by honoring King and his wishes. Reflecting on his legacy, his values, and principles he stood for.
