KAREN: WELCOME BACK. AND AL QAEDA BECAME A NATIONAL HOLIDAY 38 YEARS AGO BUT IT WOULD TAKE ALMOST ANOTHER 30 YEARS FOR ALL THE STATES TO MAKE THE DAY STATE GOVERNMENT HOLIDAY. KINGS FURTHER IS ON JANUARY 15 AND HE WAS THE FIRST MODERN PRIVATE CITIZEN TO BE HONORED WITH A FEDERAL HOLIDAY. AFTER THREE DECADES OF CONTENTION AND CONTROVERSY IS OBSERVED ON THE THIRD MONDAY IN JANUARY. AND HERE IN BOSTON WHERE HE EARNED A DOCTORATE IN SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY IN 1955, THE CITY IS MOVING FORWARD WITH PLANS TO ERECT THE 22 FOOT EMBRACE MEMORIAL ON BOSTON COMMON, WHICH DEPICTS KING’S HANDS AND THOSE OF HIS WIFE, KAREN SCOTT KING. -- CARETTA SCOTT KING. JOINING US IS THE NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF KING BOSTON. WELCOME TO CITYLINE. GOOD TO SEE YOU. >> KAREN: GREAT SEEING YOU. KAREN:WHAT DO YOU THINK DR. KING WITH THINK ABOUT THE EVENTS OF THE PAST YEAR AND THE BLACK LIVES MATTER MOVEMENT? >> I THINK DR. KING WOULD BE EXCITED AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WAS IMPORTANT TO DR. KING WAS THIS IDEA OF LEARNING AND EVOLVING. DR. KING STARTED STRONGLY FOCUSING ON CIVIL RIGHTS AND TOWARD THE END OF HIS LEGACY BEFORE HE WAS ASSASSINATED, HAD EXPANDED HIS VIEWS T POVERTY, TO HOUSING, TO RACIAL EQUITY. THERE WAS A MYRIAD OF ISSUES THAT WERE IMPORTANT TO HIS MOVEMENT. WE WERE FORTUNATE THAT ONE OF THOSE MOVEMENTS WAS IN BOSTON. HE RETURNED IN 19 625 FOR THE FREEDOM RALLY WHICH WAS LED BY BOSTON ACTIVISTS AND FOCUSED ON FOUR THINGS. HOUSING, RACIAL EQUITY, PUBLIC EDUCATION AND... KAREN: THERE ARE SO MANY THINGS. KING BOSTON RECEIVED MORE THAN 2.75 MILLION DOLLARS IN DONATIONS TO FIGHT RACIAL INEQUALITY AND ECONOMIC JUSTICE AS YOU JUST SAID. SOMETHING THAT DR. KING WAS FIGHTING FOR, ECONOMIC JUSTICE. WHICH WAS AN UNDERPINNING OF SOME OF WHAT HAPPENED THIS PAST SUMMER. TALK TO US ABOUT THAT FABULOUS GRANT YOU RECEIVE. >> WE HAVE GOTTEN A LOT OF SUPPORT. PEOPLE HAVE ASKED ME, YOU KNOW, HAS KING BOSTON EMERGED IN THIS TIME, AND I WOULD SAY KING BOSTON DID NOT EMERGE DURING THIS TIME AND AS A RESULT OF HIS COMING OUT OF NOWHERE. I THINK WE ARE A DIRECT RESPONSE CENTERED ON BOSTON’S EXCITEMENT THAT IS GOING ON IN OUR CITY. RIGHT NOW WE HAVE AN INCREDIBLE CONGRESSWOMAN. WE HAVE AN AFRICAN-AMERICAN DA. WE ARE SOON TO HAVE THE FIRST FEMALE AND BLACK MAYOR OF BOSTON. WE HAVE BLACK LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS IN OUR SHERIFF AND POLICE CHIEF. WE ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF A RECONSTRUCTION IN BOSTON AND I THINK KING BOSTON IS IN THE MIDDLE OF THAT. NOT ONLY AS A RESULT OF THE MOVEMENT ALREADY OCCURRING IN OUR CITY. KAREN: TALK TO US ABOUT THE KING CENTER FOR ECONOMIC JUSTICE. MANY PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT THE PHYSICAL MONUMENT THAT WILL BE ON BOSTON COMMON BUT DON’T KNOW AS MUCH ABOUT THE PARTNER PIECE TO THIS, WHICH IS THE CENTER FOR ECONOMIC JUSTICE WHICH IS LOCATED IN THE ROXBURY BRANCH OF THE BOSTON PROFIT LIBRARY. -- PUBLIC LIBRARY. >> I THINK THERE’S MODERN CONVERSATIONS THAT HAVE EVOLVED. IT IS NO LONGER APPROPRIATE FOR MEMORIALS TO BE STONES AND STEE L. IT HAS TO BE CENTERED AROUND IDEAS. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE DO KNOW THAT THE DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN VETERANS HE BUILT ABOUT 425 MEMORIALS. 20, 30 YEARS AFTER THE CIVIL WAR. THEY WERE SYMBOLS OF FEAR, SYMBOLS NOT WELCOMED. WE KNOW THAT BUILDING A MEMORIAL TODAY HAS TO BE MORE. THE KING CENTER FOR ECONOMIC JUSTICE WAS EXPANSION OF THE IDEA OF THE MEMORIAL. IT IS A RESEARCH INSTITUTE THAT USES DATA, GRASSROOTS ORGANIZING AND COMMUNITY TO INTERROGATE RACISM IN OUR CITIES. WE ARE EXCITED ABOUT THIS FIRST OF ITS KIND COMMUNITY RESEARCH INSTITUTION. KAREN: >> KING CENTER IS NOT REINVENTING THE WHEEL, YOU ARE ACTING AS A CONVENE OR FOR MANY ORGANIZED -- ORGANIZATIONS DOING SOME OF THE WORK IN THE GREATER BOSTON AREA? >> BOSTON IS SUCH A RICH COMMUNITY AND THERE ARE SO MONEY INSTITUTIONS. WE ARE SO LUCKY TO HAVE A SCHOLAR LIKE INGBER -- LIKE ABRAM CANDY -- IBRIM KENDI. KAREN: LET’S TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THE MEMORIAL DOES EVERY BUDDY KEEPS ASKING ME WHEN IS IT GOING TO BE UP. HAS THE PANDEMIC SLOWED DOWN THE PROGRESS OF THE BUILDING ON THE BOSTON COMMON? >> IT HAS A LITTLE BIT AND WE IMAGINE IT WILL LAUNCH IN OCTOBER OF 2022. WE ARE FINALIZING THE GREEN LIGHT TO GET THAT APPROVE THERE’S BEEN A MORATORIUM ON BUILDING IN THE COMMONS SO THERE HASN’T BEEN A NEW STRUCTURE IN THE COMMON OVER 27 YEARS. THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH MAKE SURE THERE’S NO DINOSAUR BONES IN THE COMMON AND THEN WE ARE DOING THE GEOTECHNICAL TO MAKE SURE WE DON’T CUT THE GREEN LINE CORDS. WE IMAGINE IT WILL TAKE 17 MONTHS AFTER THE MEMORIAL IS APPROVED. ROUGHLY AROUND MARCH. WE SHOULD SEE SOMETHING ON THE GROUND AND BREAK THE PROVERBIAL CHAMPAGNE BOTTLE OVER THE COMMON. >> YOU ARE SUCCEEDING MARIE ST. FLEUR IN THIS ROLE AND ABOUT STATE THE ORGANIZATION TO NEW HEIGHTS. TELL US WHAT YOUR HOPES AND DREAMS ARE FOR THIS NEXT PHASE OF THE EFFORT? >> IT IS NOT EASY TO FILL HER SHOES. SHE IS A BIG SISTER AND REALLY THE PERSON WHO ENCOURAGED ME TO TAKE THIS POSITION. SHE SAID I THINK YOU’RE READY AND THE CITY NEEDS YOUR LEADERSHIP. THIS IS THE POSITION FOR YOU. I’M HERE BECAUSE OF TWO PEOPLE. WHEN WE THINK ABOUT WHAT IT MEANS TO BE THE FIRST MEMORIAL OF THE SCALE BUILT IN THE COUNTRY POST PANDEMIC, THAT THIS IS NOT A KING BOSTON MOMENT, BUT PART OF THE HOLY TRINITY OF KING BOSTON IS THE EMBRACE MEMORIAL, THE CENTER FOR ECONOMIC JUSTICE AND EMBRACE IDEAS. EMBRACE IDEAS IS OUR EQUITY SXSW FESTIVAL WHICH WILL LAUNCH AT THE SAME TIME AS THE UNVEILING. WE ARE EXCITED TO CELEBRATE THE EMBRACE AS A BOSTON MOMENT. KAREN: THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE TODAY TO GIVE US AN UPDATE ON WHAT’S BEEN HAPPENING. ENGAGING LAW SCHOOLS IN THE FIGHT