Boston Celebrates Life And Legacy Of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
BOSTON (CBS) - From virtual prayers, digital billboards, artwork and service, the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King is being remembered in Boston.
At the IBEW Local 103 Union Hall electrical workers donated food, drinks and other essential items to be distributed to multiple food pantries in the city. Union members also provided free electrical services to pantries in need of upgrades. "We have electricians here and we ran circuits over at Shirley's Pantry for their deep freezers and also we are going to run some cameras over at Juice Up," Reneeleona Dozier of IBEW Local 103 said.
While a lot of MLK events were either canceled or went virtual because of COVID, the Museum of Fine Arts was packed with families who wanted to honor the legacy of Dr. King.
MLK art kits were handed out as images and paintings of Dr. King and other Civil Rights leaders are on display throughout the museum. Tameka Lymon of Brockton brought her three children including 9-year-old Cadence who's learning valuable lessons about King. "That white people and Black people can always be together and live in harmony," Candence Lymon said.
The MFA also had a Job fair and voter registration tables set up. "In the spirit of Martin Luther King and other great civic leaders who say we all belong in the public space, we all belong to have a voice," Museum of Fine Arts Boston Director Matthew Teitelbaum said.
Reverend Liz Walker hosted Monday night's King Boston virtual celebration, kicking off the official countdown to the debut of the MLK memorial "The Embrace." The 22-foot bronze sculpture symbolizes the embrace between Dr. King and his beloved Coretta Scott. It will be located on Boston Common just steps away from the Parkman Bandstand.
Imari Paris Jeffries, the Executive Director of King Boston, says they are exactly one year away from the unveiling of the memorial.
"The memorial is called The Embrace," Imari said. "For The Embrace to be the symbol of Boston, a monument of love, inclusion, welcome, anti-racism - there couldn't be a better memorial to represent our city than The Embrace at this moment in time."
Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley says the sculpture will uplift King's legacy and give people something to strive for.
"We all are committing to doing more than celebrating the words of Martin and Coretta but practicing them," Pressley said. "Recognizing that yes there have been tremendous gains but gains are not guarantees."