MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. MEMORIAL

MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. MEMORIAL
	Title: Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Type: Bust Year of Installation: 1992 Artist Name: Ayokunle Odeleye Funded By: The City of Pensacola & Additional Community Funding Partners Size: 5 Ft Medium: Bronze, Granite Location: Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Plaza Martin Luther King, Jr. plaza is home to Pensacola’s memorial honoring the famous civil rights leader.  The plaza is lined in gentle crepe myrtles that provide a peaceful place for reflection and tribute.  Inscribed on the monument’s plaque is an excerpt from Dr. King’s Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech in 1964, “Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation.  The foundation of such a method is love.”  Atlanta artist Ayokunle Odeleye created the bronze bust and Eddie Todd, Jr., a local architect, developed design ideas for the memorial plaza.  The statue was installed in December 1992 and it was dedicated along with the plaza on Martin Luther King, Jr. day in January of 1993.  The piece can be found in the serene downtown plaza located in the median of North Palafox Street, one of Pensacola’s original main thoroughfares—Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s memory enduring within the heart of the city.