Local

A new interactive art installation makes a stop at The King Center in Atlanta

ATLANTA — A mobile art installation touring the United States challenging Confederate narratives is now on display at The King Center.

The “Blank Slate Monument” is intended to promote hope, healing and open a dialogue about racial justice.  It is part of a weekend of events commemorating the 58th anniversary of The March on Washington and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s historic “I Have a Dream” speech.

The traveling monument, designed to challenge Confederate narratives and serve as a vehicle for nonviolent protest and healing, is now on display at The King Center.

“If there’s anything bigger than the dream Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. shared, I think it’s how he walked the dream,” said artist Kwame Akoto-Bamfo.

The monuments artist, Kwame Akoto-Bamfo, said he stands on the shoulders of people like King.  He’s honored to continue King’s dialogue about social justice on the anniversary of his historic march.

“The inspiration was to contribute to the dialogue that was going on in America at the time about the Confederate monuments,” said Akoto-Bamfo.

It’s called “blank slate” because the statue has no place card note. Akoto-bamfo wants visitors to create their own messages about what the monument means to them on a digital screen.

TRENDING STORIES:

King’s daughter, Dr. Bernice King, said more conversations and more progress must be made before her father’s “beloved community” is realized.

She said, to her, the monument inspires feelings of humanity and strength.

“No matter what is done to us, we have this resilience and determination and this fight that no matter what you do to us, we’re still going to come back strong,” said King.

This, of course, is part of a national dialogue about contextualizing the history of the United States Civil War and Confederate monuments.

The statue will be on display at the King Center through Sept. 5.