By DePriest Waddy, president
Community Foundation of Northeast Georgia
ATLANTA, Ga. | It started with a dream…a dream to launch a billion prayers and acts of kindness worldwide.
That desire led to the National Monuments Foundation of Atlanta, partnering with Clyde and Sandra Strickland, Tim Minard, Dame Didi Wong and Social Investment Holdings, Inc., to commission a statue of Atlanta’s Martin Luther King, Jr., one of the world’s greatest examples of peace. Minard, Wong and SIH are also sponsoring the statue’s India granite pedestal.
The Community Foundation for Northeast Georgia serves as a lead partner in the planning and execution of the World Peace Revival; connecting these great caring individuals with a phenomenal cause that will span generations to come.
Duluth Artist Kathy Fincher began creating the statue – but not just any statue. She discovered that while there are over 80 statues of Dr. King throughout the world, none show him “talking to God, praying or seeking God.”
Through the “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” sculpture, Dr. King is portrayed seeking God as he raises his hands to Heaven for guidance and as the spirit of the Lord flows through his robe.
She says: “We believe that the message behind Dr. King’s ministry has international value. It was his faith that led him to do good works, become a great man, and a Nobel Peace Prize Recipient.”
Stan Mullens works on statue. Photo provided.
Fincher designed and sculpted the original model. The National Monuments Foundation then paired Fincher and Athens Sculptor Stan Mullins, creator of the 20-foot-tall Chief Tomachichi, together to sculpt Dr. King’s design on a large scale. The work was completed in Mullins’ studio in Athens.
It will be unveiled in the Rodney Cook Sr. Peace Park in Atlanta’s Historic Vine City on April 1 at 1 p.m., where it will be one of 18 statues dedicated to 300 years of Georgia’s icons of peace.
Peace is the Atlanta way. It’s the home of two Nobel Peace Prize winners Dr. King, Jr. and former President Jimmy Carter. Atlanta is known as the place of peace and unity.
Atlanta’s origins of diversity and peace can be connected to its founding. When British General James Oglethorpe landed on the coast of Georgia, he was greeted in peace by Chief Tomochichi. He was the only Native American granted the rank of king by the British monarchy and was received at court in England in 1734. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Ambassador Andrew Young have suggested that their lives and influence stand on the broad shoulders of Chief Tomochichi.
Since then, Atlanta has become one of the most diverse and accomplished cities in the world and the center of the Civil Rights Movement. Its continued growth, prosperity, and history as the city of peace is attributed to a 150-year-old tradition known as “The Atlanta Way”.
In fact, Asa G. Candler VI, a member of Coca-Cola’s founding family and former National Monuments Foundation board member, recommended that the Millennium Candler Peace and Justice Prizes be jointly given in Atlanta and Copenhagen in alternating years. As a result, Georgia’s long-standing peaceful history caught the attention of numerous peace institutes including the Nobel.
In 2019, The National Park Foundation, with the assistance of The National Monuments Foundation, purchased the M.L. King Life Home, and is now renovating it. It will eventually be open to the public.
Rodney Cook Sr. Peace Park is a reconstruction of Mims Park, the first integrated park in Atlanta, originally built in the 19th century. Today, Rodney Cook Sr. Peace Park has become an epicenter for peace and unity. Once the additional phases of the park are completed, it will become a beacon of peace to the world through education and international diplomacy.
World Peace Day Schedule
- 10:45 a.m.: Opening Remarks, Home Depot, 1 Backyared Way, Atlanta
- 11 a.m.: Peace Walk to Rodney Cook Sr. Peace Park
- 12:15: p.m. Greetings and Speakers
- 12:30: Passing the legacies of Dr. King and non-violence
- 1 p.m.: Unveiling of statue of Dr. King
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
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