Boston's Martin Luther King JR statue mocked for looking 'obscene'

A statue of Martin Luther King JR has attracted online mockery, with people branding it "obscene".

The 22-foot statue, which was unveiled in Boston Common on Friday intends to honour the relationship between the civil rights activist and his wife, Coretta Scott King, and was made by sculptor Hank Willis Thomas after the city released a call to artists in 2017 to create a memorial to the Kings.

“This work is really about the capacity for each of us to be enveloped in love, and I feel enveloped in love every time I hear the names and see the faces of Dr. King and Coretta Scott King,” Thomas told the Boston Globe.

And Mayor Michelle Wu said the sculpture might help the public live up to King’s vision, “to open our eyes to the injustice of racism and bring more people into the movement for equity,” according to the Boston Globe.

“The recognition of Coretta Scott King shows that we are a city that will take on the full legacy of the Kings and challenge injustice everywhere from a place of love,” Wu said in a statement. “As we continue our work to ensure Boston is a city for everyone, this memorial is a powerful call to embrace each other more, embrace our nation’s history, and embrace what’s possible when we center community.”

Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter

“I hope people who experience ‘The Embrace’ understand or overstand the power of connection for the enhancement of our lives,” Thomas told the paper, adding, “I am excited about building markers that can direct us toward nonviolent coexistence and allow us to tell new stories about our history, our present, our future.”

However, not everyone was as enamored with the statue and took to Twitter to voice their displeasure with some calling if "obscene from certain angles".

You can't please everyone.

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.