Caileigh Winslade 
A new monument dedicated to Coretta Scott King was recently unveiled in Atlanta.
Coretta Scott King was an important author, activist, and civil rights leader, in addition to being the beloved wife of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
This monument is a part of the Made By Her: Monuments campaign created by Hulu and partnered with artist Saya Woolfalk. Fewer than 8% of all monuments in the U.S. are of women, and this campaign aims to change this.
In 2019, Hulu had a campaign in New York called The Shape of History, which put up 140 new female statues in NYC in order to equal the existing 145 statues of men, as well as in Boston, Atlanta, and San Francisco, according to Adage. However, these were only temporary exhibits, up for a single day.
Now, Hulu is putting up three permanent monuments for Marjory Stoneman Douglas in Miami, Ruth Bader Ginsburg in Los Angeles, and of course Coretta Scott King in Atlanta.
The monument inspired by King is displayed at the King Center, near Martin Luther King, Jr.’s eternal flame monument. The monument features a steel dome canopy that displays values such as “Empathy,” “Community,” and “Youth.” When visitors enter the canopy, there is a bronze statue of microphones that includes a real working microphone that Woolfalk said is meant to allow visitors “to speak their own words and commitments to civil rights and nonviolence.”
The monument was recently revealed last Thursday, April 27th, on what would be King’s 96th birthday.
“I am thrilled that my mother, Coretta Scott King, and other great women who have made positive impacts on American history are being recognized,” states Dr. Bernice A. King, CEO of The King Center, and daughter of the King couple. “As the visionary and founder of The King Center, it is only fitting that this public monument be housed at the institution that she birthed and the site of her final resting place.”
She added, speaking of her mother, “The magnitude of her contributions to humanity are yet to be known. Today’s dedication of this monument is but a beginning. There’s much more to come, and when her legacy is fully revealed, we will know that because of her, because of Mom, because of Coretta Scott King, the dream lives and the legacy continues.”
“The legacy of Coretta Scott King cannot be overstated. Mrs. King, along with countless other women, are the unsung heroes of the civil rights movement,” said Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms. “We are thankful to Hulu and artist Saya Woolfalk for providing this thoughtful remembrance for one of history’s greatest women.”
By Caileigh Winslade, Senior, ChiArts
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