Coretta Scott King

Hank Willis Thomas's monument to Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King has proven controversial. Here's why.

(In 2021, he guest-edited an issue of ARTnews called “The Deciders,” which sought “to help identify and highlight individuals and institutions currently contributing to the cultural conversation in a pointed way—and moving that conversation forward.”) What makes these monuments differ from Thomas’s is that they are all figurative, with clear views of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s face, as well as that of Coretta Scott King, in the case of the Dwight sculpture in Philadelphia. Others took the monument to task because it appeared to objectify the Kings. The King family didn’t do it alone, that we’re doing it as a loving community and I want them to hear that story.” Paris Jeffries, executive director of the nonprofit that fundraised for the work, “Here’s the person who is a neighbor, and this person is doing something wrong to you and all of that,” it reads. I can only hope The Embrace can be a reminder and a call to action to each of us to never forget what they’ve taught us.” There are other monuments to King across the U.S., including one in Washington, D.C. Thomas’s new monument, titled The Embrace, features two pairs of bodiless arms that appear to hold each other. He’s done photography projects about the representation of Black and white women in advertisements, large sculptures about Black resistance, and led artist groups such as For Freedoms, which was initially founded as a super PAC and now helps artists realize politically inflected projects. Users on Twitter and other social media platforms soon mocked the work, alleging that it had unintended, lewd connotations. Instead, the artwork quickly became a meme.