''Hope Moving Forward'' is a public

monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, his ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Dedicated in 2021, the monument consists of a bronze

statue A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to life-size; a sculpture t ...

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...

Basil Watson Basil Watson, CD (born 1958), is a Jamaican sculptor. He is the son of painter Barrington Watson,Housen, Claudine.'Balance' on the Beach", ''The Jamaica Gleaner'', 26 November 2006. and the brother of sculptor Raymond Watson.

atop a

pedestal A pedestal (from French ''piédestal'', Italian ''piedistallo'' 'foot of a stall') or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In ci ...

. It is located at the intersection of

Northside Drive Northside Drive is a road in Atlanta which begins on Whitehall Street in Castleberry Hill just north of Interstate 20 in Georgia, Interstate 20 (I-20), and ends by abruptly turning right near the Chattahoochee River in Sandy Sprin ...

and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.

History

The statue was dedicated in a small ceremony that featured

Atlanta Mayor Here is a list of mayors of Atlanta, Georgia. The mayor is the highest elected official in Atlanta. Since its incorporation in 1847, the city has had 61 mayors. The current mayor is Andre Dickens who was elected in the 2021 election and took of ...

Keisha Lance Bottoms Keisha Lance Bottoms (born January 18, 1970) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 60th mayor of Atlanta, Georgia, from 2018 to 2022. She was elected mayor in 2017. Before becoming mayor, she was a member of the Atlanta City C ...

. It was designed by Jamaican sculptor

, whose design was selected from among 80 submissions by sculptors. The statue is the second monument to

unveiled in Atlanta in the past four years, with the statue of King at the Georgia State Capitol unveiled in 2017. According to ''

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the only major daily newspaper in the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger between ...

'', this statue is the first in a series of seven monuments commissioned by the

government of Atlanta The city government of Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States is composed of a mayor and body of one councilman from each of 12 districts, a City Council President, and 3 other at-large councilmen: *Post 1 representing districts 1-4 *Post 2 repr ...

in honor of King. A month after ''Hope Moving Forward'' was dedicated, the city unveiled additional bronze statues of civil rights activists along Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, including Dorothy Lee Bolden, Rita Jackson Samuels, W. A. Scott, and

Hosea Williams Hosea Lorenzo Williams (January 5, 1926 – November 16, 2000) was an American civil rights leader, activist, ordained minister, businessman, philanthropist, scientist, and politician. He is best known as a trusted member of fellow famed civil ri ...

Design

The monument consists of a statue of King measuring tall atop a pedestal measuring tall. The statue, which is made of bronze, depicts King releasing a dove from his right hand. Watson, speaking about the statue, stated " was an evolution in terms of my concept of what Martin Luther King represents and the key message that he wanted to present to the world". It is located at the intersection of

and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, near the

Mercedes-Benz Stadium Mercedes-Benz Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium located in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Opened in August 2017 as a replacement for the Georgia Dome, it serves as the home stadium of the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL) ...

. The front of the pedestal bears the following inscription: "DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. / January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968 / Dedicated by the / CITY of ATLANTA / 2021 / "HOPE MOVING FORWARD" / Sculptor: BASIL WATSON". Additionally, the King quote " Hate cannot drive out hate; Only love can do that" is inscribed on the base.

References

{{Atlanta landmarks 2021 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) 2021 sculptures Bronze sculptures in Georgia (U.S. state) Memorials to Martin Luther King Jr. Monuments and memorials in Georgia (U.S. state) Outdoor sculptures in Georgia (U.S. state) Sculptures of Martin Luther King Jr. Statues in Atlanta

History

Design

See also

References