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Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial (Jersey City)

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Coordinates: 40°42′44″N 74°04′38″W / 40.7121°N 74.0773°W / 40.7121; -74.0773
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Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial
Year2000
TypeBronze, Granite
LocationJersey City, New Jersey

The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial is a memorial to Martin Luther King Jr. at the Martin Luther King Drive station of the Hudson–Bergen Light Rail in the Jackson Hill section of Jersey City, New Jersey.[1]

The work — a bust and accompanying bas reliefs — was created by the sculptor Jonathan Shahn (1938-2020), who was son of Ben Shahn. It was commissioned by NJ Transit and unveiled in 2000 upon the station's opening.[2][3]

The bronze 4 feet (1.2 m) bust is set atop a 7 feet (2.1 m) granite pedestal. Accompanying bronze bas reliefs, in 2-foot sections, entitled The Struggle for Civil Rights in the Martin Luther King Era, show scenes and figures from the civil rights movement. The reverse side is inscribed with a quotation from King's Letter from Birmingham Jail: "We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed."[4][5]

King is known to have made at least two speeches in Jersey City. On September 21, 1965, he received an honorary Doctor of Law from St. Peter's College. Dr. King gave an address titled "The American Dream." On Wednesday, March 27, 1968, barely a week before his death, nearly 2,000 heard King at Metropolitan A.M.E. Zion Church in which her rallied support the Poor People's Campaign and the Memphis sanitation strike.[6][7][8][9][10] The Afro-American Historical and Cultural Society Museum in Jersey City documents those visits.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Beckerman, Jim (January 17, 2020). "Martin Luther King Jr. in sculpture: Which statues capture him best?". The Record. Retrieved September 20, 2021.
  2. ^ Nash, Margo (April 16, 2000). "ART; Memorializing Civil Rights Era". The New York Times.
  3. ^ History, J. C. "Library Guides: Hudson Bergen Light Rail: Hudson Bergen Light Rail". njcu.libguides.com.
  4. ^ Bates, Steve (January 19, 2001). "Making a memorial". The Lawrence Ledger. Retrieved September 20, 2021.
  5. ^ Dube, Ilene (March 8, 2010). "Inside a Head" (Document). The Artful Blogger.
  6. ^ "Martin Luther King, Jr. speeches in Jersey City". Cityofjerseycity.org. Retrieved 2013-10-05.
  7. ^ Nash, Margo (2001-11-04). "JERSEY FOOTLIGHTS - Building on Success". The New York Times. Retrieved 2013-10-05.
  8. ^ Kaulessar, Ricardo (2009-02-10). "Celebrating Black History Month Public Library local colleges observe African American contributions". Hudson Reporter. Archived from the original on 2013-10-06. Retrieved 2013-10-05.
  9. ^ Kaulessar, Ricardo (February 8, 2011). "Beyond King and Obama: Visits to Jersey City by Prominent African-American Figures Have Been Constant Through History". JerseyCityIndependent.com. Archived from the original on October 14, 2013. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
  10. ^ Mota, Caitlin (January 15, 2016). "Days before death, King delivered 'dynamic' speech in Jersey City, county official recalls". NJ.com. Retrieved November 6, 2017.

40°42′44″N 74°04′38″W / 40.7121°N 74.0773°W / 40.7121; -74.0773

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