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EMBRACE IDEAS FESTIVAL JUN 14 -16, 2023

THIS IS THE MOMENT...

...WE EMBRACE WHAT’S POSSIBLE.

LOVE. EQUITY. JUSTICE.

AND A CITY WHERE WE ALL BELONG.

A Living Memorial

As a public space devoted to conversation, education, and reflection, the Embrace reminds viewers of our shared humanity, and honors the King’s ideal of fostering a “beloved community” in which everyone can realize their role in bringing about a more just society.

A Call For Justice

As America’s first public park, Boston Common has a 400-year-old tradition of civic gatherings. One of those took place on April 23, 1965, when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. stood on the Common before a crowd of 22,000 and called for the city to live by its highest ideals.

Dr. King’s Speech

“I was educated here, and it is one of the cities which I call home. …But it would be irresponsible of me to deny the crippling poverty and injustice that exist in some sections of this community. …The vision of the New Boston must extend into the heart of Roxbury. Boston must be a testing ground for the ideal of freedom.” – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (4/23/1965)

The Boston Connection

Dr. King and Coretta Scott King both had meaningful ties to Boston. They met and fell in love here in the 1950s, when he was a doctoral candidate at Boston University’s School of Theology and she had a fellowship at the New England Conservatory of Music.

Freedom Plaza

The memorial is set within the 1965 Freedom Plaza, which commemorates the legacy of local leaders dedicated to working for civil rights and social justice. During the plaza’s design, community members were invited to nominate individuals who served as a “voice of and for the people” from 1950-1970.

Project History

Entrepreneur Paul English jumpstarted the effort to honor the Kings with a significant financial commitment in 2017. He and co-chair Rev. Liz Walker of Roxbury Presbyterian Church then convened an Art Committee of renowned educators, visual artists, and curators rooted in the Black art tradition to help shepherd the design process and coordinate public input.

Selecting an Artist

In 2018, five finalists were selected from 126 teams around the world that submitted concepts. Community input that included around 1,000 public comments narrowed the field to three designs, and reviewers from Embrace Boston and the City of Boston reviewed the practicality of each design. On March 4, 2019, the committee announced that it had selected The Embrace by artist Hank Willis Thomas and MASS Design Group.

A Living Memorial

As a public space devoted to conversation, education, and reflection, the Embrace reminds viewers of our shared humanity, and honors the King’s ideal of fostering a “beloved community” in which everyone can realize their role in bringing about a more just society.

A Call For Justice

As America’s first public park, Boston Common has a 400-year-old tradition of civic gatherings. One of those took place on April 23, 1965, when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. stood on the Common before a crowd of 22,000 and called for the city to live by its highest ideals.

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The Story began in Boston. 

The Embrace digital experience is a self-guided app offering storytelling, first-hand accounts and historical photos and images to visitors.

AN “EYES-UP” EXPERIENCE 

This digital experience allows visitors to explore the monument, and the 1965 Freedom Plaza beneath it at their own pace, while learning more about Boston’s civil rights legacy and the incredible contribution of the Kings. The Embrace and the 1965 Freedom Plaza are reminders of the Kings’ high ideals born from struggle—to foster a “beloved community.”


FEEL THE HISTORY & IMAGINE THE FUTURE

We welcome you to hear stories of local civil rights struggles while the Kings made Boston their home; be introduced to civil rights and social justice leaders active in Greater Boston from 1950 –1975; listen to reflections from the artist, Hank Willis Thomas; as well as behind-the-scenes insights on how the incredible sculpture was created.

LAUNCH STORIES HERE

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THEY DID
THE WORK

The 1965 Freedom Plaza honors the Kings as well as 65 local civil rights leaders active between 1950-1970. They remind us that the fight is worth the struggle.

EMBRACE WHAT’S POSSIBLE

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THE WRAP

With The Embrace memorial under construction, we saw an opportunity to endorse and uplift Boston-based BIPOC photographers and digital artists to share their voice -- through their art.

Six artists responded to the creative prompt “Embracing Boston’s 20+ Neighborhoods.”


See More

  • Harry Scales

  • Malakhai Pearson

  • Rixy Fernandez

  • Tran Vu

  • Yotron The Don

  • Zahirah Nur Truth

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LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We acknowledge that Boston is situated on the traditional homelands of the Massachusett People. We also acknowledge their relatives and neighbors, the Nipmuc and Wampanoag Peoples.

We recognize the historical legacy of colonialism and racism by honoring and paying respect to the land. We do it to raise greater public consciousness of First Nation sovereignty and cultural rights as a small step toward equitable relationships and reconciliation.

It also raises questions of what it means to live in a new Boston. What did it take for us to get here? And how can we be accountable to our part in history?