Gov. Deal To Unveil Martin Luther King Statue At Georgia Capitol

ATLANTA, GA -- Gov. Nathan Deal will unveil a statue of the late Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. at the Georgia State Capitol on Monday, Aug. 28, Patch has learned. The 10 a.m. event will be attended by several luminaries of the state and city, including Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, Rep. Calvin Smyre, Capitol Arts Standards Commission members and other dignitaries.

The King family will also be on hand for the event, which comes at an interesting time for the city and much of the nation. (SIGN UP: Get Patch's Daily Newsletter and Real Time News Alerts. Or, if you have an iPhone, download the free Patch app.)

Much of the nation, especially the South, is involved in a brouhaha over monuments and markers. The issue has always been simmering for years, but recently boiled over with the tragic clashes in Charlottesville, Va. Now, metro Atlanta monuments and symbols are under scrutiny.

“On Monday, we will witness Georgia history being made as the MLK statue is unveiled,” said State Representative William Boddie (D-East Point), GLBC Communications Chair.

“The Georgia Legislative Black Caucus is proud to have played a role in helping to make the dream of the MLK statue on the grounds of the State Capitol a shining reality,” said State Representative Sandra Scott (D-Rex), GLBC Vice-Chairman. “The unveiling of the MLK statue will be a great day for all Georgians.”

Monday's statue unveiling will be in stark contrast to the current toppling of Confederate monuments in much of the South, something Georgia's governor is careful not to directly address.

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Deal said the issue of removing Confederate monuments is one that will likely be dealt with by Georgia lawmakers in January.

“There are many facets of it,” the governor told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution recently. “The one that’s got the most attention lately has been the prohibition on local governments being able to make independent decisions about monuments and flags within their jurisdictions. I think they will give it a serious look.”

For the MLK event, the authorities will institute street closures on Capitol Avenue from Memorial Drive to Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, and on Mitchell Street from Washington Street to Capitol Avenue from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. On MLK Jr. Drive, westbound traffic will be detoured onto Jesse Hill Jr. Drive from 9:45 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

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