MLK Statue

Martin Luther King Jr., invited by the reverend at ONU at that time, Reverend James Udy, visited Ohio Northern University on January 11th, 1968. That day, classes let out early for the 50-minute speech given by Dr. King in the old Taft Gymnasium. An estimated 4,500 people listened to Dr. King’s impactful speech at ONU that day to see what he had to say. Around 2,500 students and staff listened to the speech in Taft Gymnasium and the overflow of attendees, about 2,000 people, listened to the audio in the Lehr Auditorium. The speech consisted of the problems relating to segregation and how everyone has an important role in creating equality throughout the country. The speech also included the day-to-day struggles for the freedom desired by many. During and after the speech, students and staff felt greatly influenced, recognizing the changes that needed to be made in regard to civil rights. The speech was one of the last he gave at a university or college. Three months later, Dr. King was assassinated on April 4, 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee.

The influential speech given by MLK, empowered and changed the hearts of many at ONU. MLK made a tremendous impact on so many people in the 1950s and 1960s. The students and staff at ONU valued and remembered the inspirational words that came from Dr. King. The university appreciates the opportunity and time of Martin Luther because he displays hope for the future of the country. In remembrance of the impactful speech given at Ohio Northern, the school celebrates what he stands for and the appearance of Martin Luther King Jr. still to this day. The MLK statue stands six feet and three inches tall and weighs about 700 pounds. The statue of Dr. King displays him standing behind a podium, while giving his speech at the university. The statue, made out of cast in silicon bronze, constructed by Tad McKillop, from Ann Arbor, Michigan, who also created the Lehr statue on the university’s campus. The statue took about a year to construct. Then, on April 17th, 2017, the statue presented itself during the 50th Anniversary of the speech, located between Taft Hall and the ONU Pettit College of Law. The statue’s location is significant because it is where MLK gave his speech in 1968. Video and audio of MLK’s speech can be found on Ohio Northern University’s website, along with interviews from attendees and staff members.

ONU Set to Unveil Statue of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., onu.edu. April 6th 2018. Accessed November 5th 2020. https://www.onu.edu/news/onu-set-unveil-statue-dr-martin-luther-king-jr.

Martin Luther King Jr., Biography.com. Accessed November 18th 2020. https://www.biography.com/activist/martin-luther-king-jr.