Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. statue unveiled at New Orleans civil rights museum
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NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — A life-sized statue of Civil Rights Leader, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., has been unveiled at the the Louisiana Civil Rights Museum – The Inaugural Experience located in the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center.
The six-foot cement sculpture was created by the late Louisiana artist Reverend Ivory Dyson and is now on display inside the museum at the Julia Street entrance.
“The New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center is proud to be the home of the Louisiana Civil Rights Museum exhibit and share it with our thousands of annual visitors and the citizens of Louisiana. This museum exhibit is a tribute to the many leaders from our state who played pivotal roles in the civil rights movement and were inspired by Dr. King, making the museum exhibit a fitting home for this wonderful statue,” said Convention Center President and CEO Michael J. Sawaya.
The statue was first acquired by the Louisiana State Museum in 2005 with hopes of it standing in the Civil Rights Museum one day.
18 years later in 2023, the statue now calls New Orleans home.
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“It is fitting to celebrate this important holiday weekend by further enhancing the experience of the Louisiana Civil Rights Museum – The Inaugural Experience, with a statue of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,” said Sawaya.
Dyson, who died in 2021, was from Tickfaw, Louisiana and his daughter Lindory Parker said his motivation for creating the statue was to honor Dr. King’s ties to the civil rights movement in New Orleans.
Parker adds that in the 1950s, her father was also known for channeling his talent and passion for the movement to challenge racism in the South.
Courtesy: Louisiana Civil Rights Museum Courtesy: Louisiana Civil Rights Museum Courtesy: Louisiana Civil Rights Museum Courtesy: Louisiana Civil Rights Museum Dr. Martin LuthCourtesy: Louisiana Civil Rights Museumer King Jr. statue unveiled at New Orleans civil rights museum Courtesy: Louisiana Civil Rights Museum Courtesy: Louisiana Civil Rights Museum. Reverend Ivory Dyson
5,000 square feet was dedicated to house the exhibit which opened on Oct. 8, 2023.
Museum officials say visitors are immersed in the exhibit with its ongoing civil rights journey consisting of “pathways to explore advocacy, racial history, and narrated profiles of equity and activism unique to Louisiana and its civil rights founders.”
Additional work from Dyson can be seen at Southern University in Baton Rouge, Heritage Museum in Hammond, and Sweet Home Community Museum in Kentwood.
The museum is open Tuesday – Thursday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. To purchase tickets, visit the Louisiana Civil Rights Museum website.
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