MLK

Last week, the Boston Art Commission approved artist Hank Willis Thomas’ final design for “The Embrace,” a sculptural tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King that will live on the Boston Common.

Castle of Our Skins, a Boston-based collective of artists committed to advancing Black artistry through music, celebrates Martin Luther King’s legacy with two free concerts, both produced by Celebrity Series.

The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. the son and grandson of Baptist ministers, was born not just to preach, but to preach to the world.

In early 1965, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. saw in Boston a city rife with segregation and politically dominated by whites. 55 years later, many Bostonians are ready to usher in a new era of Black women in positions of power. Despite these victories, local leaders insist that a lot must change before King’s dreams are realized.

The Boston Children’s Chorus will celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day with a free, virtual concert debuting on January 17. In “Born on the Water,” over 300 local singers, alongside Massachusetts-born opera star Andrea Baker, will raise their voices in tribute to the civil rights leader.

Martin Luther King Jr. first came to Boston in 1951 to study at Boston University’s School of Theology. He received a Ph.D. in Philosophy in 1955.

In 2018, the tomb holding Martin Luther King Jr. was covered in plastic while workers spruced up the reflecting pool that surrounds it. Written in the tiles is King’s promise that he will never be satisfied “until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”