Four relief panels around the plinth of the MLK statue on the East mall area of the UT campus pair Dr King's inspirational quotes from scenes of his life - and death.
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"University of Texas unveils Martin Luther King statue
Posted: Sunday, December 19, 1999
By Christy Hoppe
Dallas Morning News
AUSTIN -- On a campus where the visage of Jefferson Davis faces eternally southward, where affirmative action ended and where 4 percent of the students are black, a new statue and a new statement came Friday.
The University of Texas unveiled a statue of Martin Luther King Jr., believed to be the only college-based sculpture of the civil rights leader outside his alma mater, Morehouse College.
It is the first statue of an African American on the 116-year-old campus. And, like the man it memorializes, students and administrators said it comes as a symbol of unity after four fractious years of campus debates, protests and forums over race issues.
In dedicating the $260,000 statue, Martin Luther King III said he was honored that students conceived the idea and undertook a 12-year struggle to raise funds.
''I was particularly moved by the story behind this magnificent sculpture, for if there were ever a story that epitomizes what the civil rights movement was all about, it is the story of the effort of the students of UT to erect this statue,'' King said.
Speaking before more than 2,000 students, the son of the slain minister said, ''Like those that continued to fight for justice and equality in our nation and in our world, you refused to be turned around.''
To the university administration, the statue will serve as a reminder of its work ''today, tomorrow, and for as long as it takes, to make the dream of Dr. King a reality in this world,'' UT President Larry R. Faulkner said.
For many students, it is a symbol of pride, shared even by students who battle on opposite sides of the affirmative action debate. It was cited as a sign of perseverance to those who were affronted by racist vandalism only three weeks ago.
And to some, it is an overdue but welcomed sign of inclusion.
''It's a positive step when we're going to walk around and see Martin Luther King,'' said senior Domonique McClendon.
McClendon is an officer in the predominantly black Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, whose signs around campus were defaced with ''KKK'' markings Labor Day weekend by unknown vandals.
The radio-television-film major said the incident was isolated, but should not be overlooked.
She also said she just completed a recruitment program for potential freshmen and many of them had the same question: ''They would ask what it's like being in a class of 500 and you're the only black student,'' she said.
McClendon said the question and the vandalism shows black students still are made to feel isolated. ''But I think there are a lot of students willing to face that challenge. And I think UT represents the real world,'' she said.
The statue, she said, ''is definitely the first step.''
UT has struggled to take many steps after being forced to face the race issue like few other communities.
In 1996, an appeals court ruled the UT law school could no longer consider race in its admissions policy. The suit was brought by four white applicants who failed to be accepted into the law school, and named for plantiff Cheryl Hopwood.
The court ruling was extended by then-Attorney General Dan Morales to prohibit all public universities from targeting minorities in scholarship, financial aid and recruitment programs.
As a result, freshman minority enrollment, especially among blacks, plummeted. University officials said the Hopwood ruling forced some of the brightest minorities to leave for the financial benefits still offered by out-of-state colleges. And it sent an unwelcome message, they said.
Only this fall has UT managed to rebuild its number of minority freshmen to pre-Hopwood levels.
''The question and the topic of Hopwood has never gone away,'' said student government president Parisa Fatehi.
But beyond sparking angry debates and sit-ins, the court case also has managed to ignite greater involvement, she said.
''I think more and more students are becoming involved in recruiting students of diversity. Students are taking more responsibility,'' Fatehi said.
Since the Hopwood decision, which the university is appealing, UT has created the Multiculturalism Information Center as a place to promote events and understanding among students of different race and ethnicity.
The university also has placed recruitment offices in inner cities; promoted a mentoring program to team minority freshmen with older students and required a diversity program for all incoming students.
For potential applicants, alumni have established private scholarships that can target top minority candidates; Dr. Faulkner conducts speaking tours at predominantly minority high schools; low-income seniors are provided weekend trips to visit campus and university leaders are sent to speak to hometown groups.
''Through hard work and the creativity of a lot of people, we've actually exceeded the number of minorities in our entering freshman class,'' said Dr. James Vick, vice president for student affairs.
He said tensions on campus have been reduced as the fear of a segregated campus have faded.
''In many ways we've become a test case to what can be done when you're no longer allowed to use the standard approaches to affirmative action,'' Vick said.
This success feels particularly good when it is coupled with the dedication of Dr. King's statue, he said.
The project, suggested by students in 1987, gained approval early but faltered in fund-raising for years. Student leaders graduated, and the project stalled, Vick said.
In 1995, students took a different tack. They sponsored a campus referendum, approved by 61 percent, that allowed the university to increase student fees by $1 a semester to fund the statue.
''It's a terrific feeling of satisfaction. It's a dream that you thought might not happen,'' Vick said.
Marc Levin also said he is delighted with the statue. He is a law student who founded Students for a Colorblind Society, which hailed the end of affirmative action.
He and a small band of like-minded conservatives often found themselves shouted down, and occasionally labeled racists, by affirmative action supporters.
''Those of us who are opposing discrimination and preferences feel like we are following Martin Luther King's creed, which was not to judge people by the color of their skin, but the contents of their character,'' Levin said.
And artists Jeffrey Varilla and Anna Koh-Varilla, a husband and wife team from Chicago, said they hope their statue of Dr. King will inspire students and bring them together.
The artists said they were aware of some of the unrest on campus, and also followed the Jasper murder of James Byrd and convictions of two of the three men accused in the slaying. The third man is awaiting trial.
They said their design of Dr. King in the black robes of a scholar with his arm outstretched would be a beacon for all people to come together.
As she watched the 12-foot bronze statue installed on its site this week on the campus' east mall, Ms. Koh-Varilla said she felt immediately that this work had found its perfect resting place.
''It's beautiful,'' she said. ''When the sun rises, it's like he's welcoming a new day.''"