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The Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King plaza opened Friday afternoon with an unveiling ceremony. Speakers included Doug Allen, professor of philosophy, University of Maine President Robert Kennedy and Joe Perry, president of the NAACP’s Bangor area chapter.
The ceremony opened with a performance by Euphony. Allen then spoke, thanking the workers for their quick work and stressing the importance of honoring the Kings. Allen said the project was meant to “celebrate the memory of the Kings … [and] keep alive the continuing relevance of the Kings.” He noted the 10 quotes in the plaza and said they are meant to “challenge us.”
Perry spoke of the sacrifice the Kings made, asking the crowd, “Would I have done that?” He encouraged the crowd to “work for freedom for each of us.”
Kim Harris and David Roth performed several spiritual songs, including one marking the progression of African Americans through society and noted, in song, the historical importance of Sen. Obama’s run for the White House. They engaged the crowd in several songs, saying the Kings would not have approved of “people standing around not singing.”
Robert Dana, the vice president for Student Affairs, spoke of the “responsibility to do good” and said the King legacy gives students across the country the courage and fortitude to continue their good work.
President Kennedy said, “We stand here together today as a community committed to the ideals exemplified by Martin Luther King and Coretta Scott King. We are saying loudly and proudly that intolerance and injustice have no place in our society. That we are willing to stand up and make a difference, as did the heroes for which this plaza is named.”
Construction of the memorial took two months, but it has been almost two years since the idea was proposed. It was officially announced at the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. breakfast in January, 2007. There has been a long tradition of honoring Dr. King with the annual breakfast, but Kennedy explained the Kings deserve a memorial as well because “Symbolically he, more than anyone else, really stands for the struggle for civil liberties and social justice in this country. … Nobody in the history of this country has lived it and struggled and sacrificed more than Dr. King, I think.”
The memorial was funded with both university and private funds. Kennedy explained there was maintenance done on the steam lines under the plaza, but that there was “very significant private funding.” It was expected to cost up to $300,000, with an additional $200,000 earmarked for the work on the steam lines. The plaza was designed by Sasaki Associates of Boston.
Bangor Daily News