City where MLK gave first speech unveils park in his honor

On April 17, 1944, a 15-year-old named Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his first public speech in Dublin, and now the city is recognizing the event with a monument park.

On Monday, the city unveiled the first phase of the quarter-acre park at the corner of U.S. 441 and Church Street. The park is across from First African Baptist Church, where King delivered the speech. The Colored Elks Lodge of Georgia was having a public speaking contest, which King won.

Monday’s ceremony unveiled a painted mural by nationally known Atlanta artist Corey Barksdale, as well as a photo mural by Randall Gearhart, who is from Dublin. Gearhart’s mural is a large photo of the inside of the church, which is largely unchanged since King delivered his speech.

The park will eventually have two water features and a sculpture, said Rebecca McWilliam, director of tourism for Visit Dublin GA. The park was designed at no cost by Oliver Seabolt of Orion Planning and Design.

She said it had long been a dream to recognize King’s connection to Dublin. The effort began three years ago, and more than 200 businesses and individuals have donated money or services.

The cost of the park is $250,000, which she said all came from donations and grants. The city donated in-kind services as its local match for some of the grants.

“I just hope that it will give people the inspiration to achieve the things they want to achieve to bring positive change to our society,” she said.

The unveiling came on the 73rd anniversary of the speech, which was titled “The Negro and the Constitution.” According to King’s autobiography, the episode was notable for more than being his first public speech. On the bus ride back to Atlanta, he said for the first time he was told to give up his seat to a white passenger. He originally refused, but his teacher persuaded him to do it, and they stood in the rear of the bus.

“It was definitely pivotal in his life,” McWilliam said. It came nearly 20 years before his 1963 “I Have a Dream” speech in Washington, D.C.

Barksdale, who is from Atlanta, is known for creating art work related to civil rights.

“If Martin Luther King had not done what he did in the past, then I probably would not have had the opportunity to do what I do,” Barksdale said. “It’s personal to me.”

This story was originally published April 17, 2017 at 5:40 PM with the headline "City where MLK gave first speech unveils park in his honor."