When honoring a figure whose legacy demands reverence and accuracy, the stakes are always high. The city of Winter Park, Florida, recently discovered this as it unveiled its long-awaited statue of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.; the reaction from the community was anything but the triumphant moment officials may have anticipated. Instead, confusion, disappointment, and disbelief clouded the event.
“It looks awkward; it just didn’t look up to the standards Winter Park is so known for,” said Jonathan Blount, Essence magazine co-founder and a community member, per WESH 2 News. “His feet was too big, his head was too big. His arm was too big and it looked really like a caricature of Dr. King and really didn’t look anything like him.”
“On one side, oh yeah, I like it. On the other side, it doesn’t look like him,” Nora Koenecke, another Winter Park resident, added.
The new statue of the civil rights leader was designed by artist Andrew Luy, who was selected by a committee from the arts, parks, and CRA boards. And while social media was quick to criticize the sculpture, Luy says the feedback he received before the reveal was fairly positive.
“The feedback I got from the committee and also the majority, actually all of the attendees that came to the unveiling, was greatly positive,” Luy shared. “I didn’t have direct contact with the King estate, but from what I heard, they were very happy with the representation of the sculpture of Dr. King.”
Meanwhile, online users wasted no time calling out the statue’s awkward appearance.
“That’s a terrible MLK statue. It is, however, a pretty good Gary Coleman statue,” one user commented on YouTube.
On Instagram, some users likened the statue to fictional characters like George Jefferson, while others questioned who approved the design and if they intended to honor Dr. King or disrespect him.
“Maybe it just didn’t come out the way everybody had hoped it would. I hear what you’re saying,” Winter Park Mayor Sheila DeCiccio said, acknowledging the community’s concerns. “I don’t know what we can do at this point because it was a very big investment.”
This is not the first time a statue created in honor of the iconic Civil Rights leader has sparked mixed reactions. In 2010, Washington, DC, unveiled a 30-foot-tall statue of Martin Luther King Jr. on the National Mall. At the time, the memorial statue sparked controversy, as critics believed it should have been made by an American rather than sculptor Lei Yixin, who they felt made the MLK statue look Asian. Similarly, in 2023, a sculpture inspired by a hug between Dr. King and his wife, Coretta Scott King, titled“The Embrace,” sparked mixed reactions.
Regardless of the public’s opinions, the King family reportedly approved Luy’s MLK Jr. Winter Park city statue design.
