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On January 11, 1990 Mother unveiled the Behold monument. It was not on the
King Center grounds,
but just across Auburn Avenue, on the National Park Service grounds, near
a small mini-amphitheater.
The plaque says it is a tribute to her late husband and an enduring
inspiration to all who fight for dignity,
social justice, and human rights. The sculptor, Patrick Morelli, was
inspired by scenes from the ‘70s
TV miniseries Roots, the scene of
actor Thalmus Rasulala, portraying the Gambian father, Omoro Kinte,
lifting his newborn son Kunta to a star-studded African night sky and
reciting these words:
“Behold, the only thing greater than yourself.” The statue itself is
of the “baptism” of the infant
Kizzy, by her father, the slave Kunta Kinte, played by LeVar Burton.
Across Auburn Avenue stood the King Center administration building; that
side of the street also
holds old Ebenezer, and my father’s tomb in the middle of the reflecting
pool. Across Auburn is
the Behold monument, and soon there would stand a multimillion-dollar
Ebenezer Baptist Church;
Ebenezer Horizon Sanctuary; then also the King Visitor Center set up by
the National Park
Service
for the 700,000 tourists who visit the King Historic District each year.
Dexter Scott King, “Growing
Up King”, page
172.
Warner Books, 2003.
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