MLK Sculpture By John Wilson Unveiled At Brookline Town Hall

BROOKLINE, MA — A sculpture of Martin Luther King, Jr., created by long-time Brookline resident John Wilson, was unveiled Sunday in the Brookline Town Hall lobby and the gift to the town will now sit there for all to see and ponder.

The event represented the culmination of a years-long community endeavor. Wilson created the sculpture of Dr. King's head in 1982 as a small-scale model for his monumental portrait of King in Martin Luther King, Jr., Park in Buffalo, NY. Another of his images of King is in the Rotunda of the U. S. Capitol.

A Committee to Commemorate John Wilson organized a drive in an effort to buy the sculpture and have it placed in the lobby at Town Hall. They raised the $100,000 in donations from more than 300 businesses, organizations and members of the community, along with the support of Wilson’s family and their representative, Martha Richardson Fine Art, to purchase and install the art.

"It is a powerful and inspirational work that pays homage to a great civic leader, raises awareness of a nationally-acclaimed artist who lived in the town for 50 years, and serves as an expression of Brookline’s commitment to racial equality," said a press release about the event.

Wilson was born in Roxbury in 1922. He became one of the most highly regarded sculptors of his generation, a renowned teacher at Boston University, and a leader in the local artistic community. He is one of the biggest contributors to the development of the artist language and recognition of Afro-American art in the 20th century, according to his website. He died in Brookline in 2015.

“We are extremely fortunate to have Wilson’s great work in Town Hall. Over the last two years it has been a pleasure to come to know John Wilson’s family and his art and to help bring the story of his life to others,” said Robert Daves, co-chair of the Committee to Commemorate John Wilson.

“The Town is honored to accept this gift, a great and moving work of art by an esteemed artist and valued citizen of Brookline," said Select Board Chair Neil Wishinsky in December."Seeing it in Town Hall... its message of public service and social justice will provide an inspiring welcome to all."

The giant sculpture depicting the civil rights leader's head will be hard to miss at Town Hall.

"Every person entering Town Hall will reflect on the work of both John Wilson and Dr. King when entering this public space. I hope that they will also be reminded that the arc of the moral universe can't bend toward justice without the efforts and actions of good people," said State Rep Tommy Vitolo, who was also a member of the Committee to Commemorate John Wilson.

Vitolo read the Massachusetts House Resolution he drafted and filed, passed unanimously just weeks after Vitolo was sworn in to his first term on Jan. 2.

On March 24, the committee will offer a lecture at Brookline Library about Wilson and his art by Executive Director of the National Center of Afro-American Artists Edmund Barry Gaither. The event will be co-sponsored by the Brookline Historical Society.

The event also featured Committee to Commemorate John Wilson co-chairs Daves and Mac Dewart, as well as Skip Griffin, Wilson's wife Julia Wilson and Select Board Member Ben Franco.

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• MLK Day In Brookline: New Film Highlights Brookline
• Activate the Dream: Celebrating Brookline's John Wilson

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