Gov. Nathan Deal unveils Martin Luther King Jr. statue

ATLANTA — As cities around the country are talking about whether or not to bring down certain monuments and statues, at the state capitol Monday, an unveiling of a new bronze statue of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

It’s been three years coming. The bronze statue now looks east over Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.

A huge crowd gathered to see the unveiling of the statue, including King’s only living sister, Dr. Christine Farris King and his youngest daughter Bernice.

Governor Nathan Deal and Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed spoke about the effort and patience that went into erecting the statue. They talked about how at this time in our country the statue is symbolic of a path forward in healing racial division.

Dr. King’s great niece talked about what the honor means for her family.

"Just to see a statue and it overlooking his birth home, his church, his street, you know,” said Farris Christine Watson. “And then to be recognized by a capitol, especially with what we’re going through now in our country, it just means a lot."

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Reed promised a $40 million investment in the MLK corridor and more dialogue about the Confederate monuments.

“We were savoring today and enjoying the moment, but as I’ve said, we’re going to set up a commission and over the next 60 days we’re going to have a conversation about Confederate monuments in our own city,” Reed said.

More than 1,000 people attended the event. Bernice King said this day was a long time coming and that on this 54th anniversary of her father delivering his ‘I Have a Dream’ speech, that her father remains a light to a peaceful path forward.

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