Several decisions were made regarding aesthetic features of Carrboro’s new Martin Luther King Jr. Park at a recent Board of Aldermen meeting. Along with approving four high-school finalists to paint the two murals in the park, the board also approved of three of the eight quotes to be featured on placards along the park’s walking trail.

Several board members expressed concern over the town’s Parks and Recreation Department being the only group deciding which quotes will be chosen. Among them was Alderwoman Barbara Foushee, who said she wants to make sure Dr. King is honored in his totality.

“This is nothing against the Parks and Rec Commission and their work,” she said. “Diversity is important, and there were important voices missing from the table and from this selection process, so I would like to recommend that we get some substitutions for some of them in order to get at the full energy of who Dr. King really was.”

The board recommended that the town’s youth advisory board, the local NAACP’s youth committee and the full local NAACP chapter be involved in deciding on the last five quotes. Alderwoman Bethany Chaney said she believes hearing from more voices will increase the reach and meaningfulness of the quotes selected.

“It’s not very clear whether we’ve had full participation in identifying the quotes that are most meaningful to a broad sector of the community,” she said at the meeting. “I’m troubled by that, and I’m not sure we’re a broad sector of the community.”

Involving several additional youth-led groups is yet another way the town is involving young people in the design of Martin Luther King Jr. Park, after deciding to commission four young artists as the muralists following a contest of mural designs. The board voted to allow all four designs to be used, finding ways to combine the four submissions into two murals.

The town plans to hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony on January 20, 2020.

Photo via Town of Carrboro.

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