Gold Dome MLK statue effort moves ahead - finally

Atlanta’s never had much of a problem paying tribute to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. A major street bears his name, his silhouette appears in public art, and his life is often recalled by city leaders and activists. A center celebrating his life and work sits a block away from his childhood home. Now, more than 50 years after the civil rights leader preached a message of tolerance and led a movement that changed race relations, state government leaders will do their part to recognize King.

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In the coming months, state leaders will embark on an effort to erect an up-to eight-foot-tall statue of King on the Capitol grounds — a more fitting tribute than the current portrait that has been hung in various places around the Gold Dome over the years. But making the statue a reality could prove just as difficult as getting the state to acknowledge its merit in the first place.

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The statue’s installation is thanks to legislation sponsored by state Rep. Tyrone Brooks, D-Atlanta, and signed by Gov. Nathan Deal last year, pledging to honor the native son. State Rep. Calvin Smyre, D-Columbus, said on Friday that he plans to create a committee to study proposals and is getting in touch with other states that have statues of King, some of which have cost as much as $300,000. Private donations would be solicited to foot the bill.

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Smyre and Georgia Building Authority Director Steve Stancil were also working with Intellectual Properties Management, which handles the licensing of King’s work and likeness for the family.

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Obtaining permission from family members, who are fiercely protective of their fathers’ image being used without their authorization, has left some wondering whether it would be possible. King’s surviving children are embroiled in a legal battle over who has claim to their father’s Nobel Peace Prize and traveling Bible. Smyre says he’s not worried and enjoys “great communications” with the King family.

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Once licensing discussions are finished, Smyre says, the time to create and install the statue should be roughly six to eight months. The state hasn’t decided where the tribute would be placed, though a potential site is at the corner of Capitol Avenue and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, facing Liberty Plaza or Ebenezer Baptist Church.

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The addition of King’s statue follows the 2013 removal of a long-standing homage to Tom Watson, a Georgia politician and legendary racist. But the King statue’s potential placement would be opposite that of segregationist Gov. Eugene Talmadge. Whether that spot was intended to serve as a reminder of the state’s racist past and its more modern progress or as a way to placate opponents of King’s legacy was left unsaid — as was any speculation over why King hadn’t received permanent placement on his home state’s Capitol grounds until now.

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“It’s long overdue but we’re doing it,” Smyre says. “I would have preferred that it had happened some time ago, but at the same time we’re here now and I’m looking forward to it. It’s very, very sentimental for me.”

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Deal couldn’t speculate either, but he did add: “I don’t know, I’m just glad I’m the governor who signed the legislation that allowed it to happen.”