I Have a Dream / Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial (1999)

                        Lisa Reinertson

DESCRIPTION:   memorial installation consisting of the following components:
  • I Have A Dream:  7-foot high cast bronze statue/sculpture of Martin Luther King, Jr. flanked by two children, mounted on a circular concrete base stenciled and etched with his quotations
  • granite and concrete hardscape design with etched granite tiles and perimeter seating 


Artist's statement excerpt: "The idea of including the children was inspired by Dr. King’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech in which he expressed his desire for there to be a future in which “children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” Dr. King sacrificed his own comfortable family life to be on the front lines of this important movement for social change. In doing so, he was working to ensure a better future for all of our children and all of our grandchildren; to look forward to a future in which racism could be a thing of the past. This sculpture is meant to be a reminder and an inspiration to all of us to think about the kind of world we want to leave for our children. Dr. King’s insistence on nonviolent activism, and on confronting the moral injustices of inequality and racism within our system and within our culture, is something deserving to be etched in bronze.- So that for future generations these stories my never be forgotten, and in hopes that we someday may truly live up to Dr. King’s dream."    - Lisa Reinertson
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LOCATION:   Main Street Pedestrian Mall between 9th Street and University Avenue, Riverside, California, USA