Seneca Scott, a cousin of Coretta Scott King, has shared his thoughts on a new controversial statue of the activist alongside husband, Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., entitled “The Embrace.”
Calling the Boston statue insulting to his family, he described it as a “masturbatory metal homage” in an essay published by Compact Magazine. In an interview with CNN, he blatantly said it resembled male genitalia.
“If you can look at it from all angles, and it’s probably two people hugging each other, it’s four hands. It’s not the missing heads that’s the atrocity that other people clamp onto that; it’s a stump that looked like a penis. That’s a joke.”
Designed by Brooklyn-based conceptual artist Hank Willis Thomas, the 20-foot tall, 40-foot wide sculpture is based on a photo of the historic couple hugging after King was honored with the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. While it captures their arms mid-embrace, it doesn’t include their heads, with many believing the final art piece resembles a sex act.
The new MLK statue in Boston. pic.twitter.com/iNEVXUUTn8
— Jon Dimetros (@theagentmetro) January 14, 2023
“I do love how that MLK statue is so terrible, it united together people of all backgrounds, beliefs, and creeds to roast tf out of it,” tweeted one user, with another adding, “is it holding a giant penis? this the new mlk/coretta statue?”
Martin Luther King III, however, was happy to see a piece of art dedicated to the love shared between his parents, telling Don Lemon Monday, “I think that’s a huge representation of bringing people together. I think the artist did a great job. I’m satisfied. Yeah, it didn’t have my mom and dad’s images, but it represents something that brings people together. And in this time, day and age, when there’s so much division, we need symbols that talk about bringing us together.”