Gardens Designed to Honor Dr. King, Coretta Scott King

Reprinted Courtesy of K-State Collegian

When Coretta Scott King died last year, she probably never imagined being commemorated alongside her husband, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., in this way.

K-State is planning to build a group of gardens in honor of Mrs. King called the Coretta Scott King Gardens of Engagement, which will surround the bust of Dr. King that was dedicated in front of Ahearn Field House last year.

K-State’s National Organization of Minority Architecture Students (NOMAS) was commissioned by Myra Gordon, associate provost for diversity and dual career development at K-State, to design the gardens. The students hope to break ground for the project during next year’s Martin Luther King Jr. Observance Week, Gordon said.

“This is one-of-a-kind,” she said. “The bust, the gardens, the fact that it’s on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive with him looking down it … it is truly, truly, truly unique. No one has a garden dedicated to Mrs. King.”

Since Dr. King’s last university speech was made at Ahearn Field House on Jan. 19, 1968, before he died in April of that year, the university wanted to dedicate that area of campus to him and his wife, Gordon said.

“It’s an opportunity to celebrate her as we celebrate Dr. King,” she said. “This is a unique opportunity to reunite this woman with her husband. Really, they were an indivisible pair during the civil rights movement.”

David Hildebrandt, graduate student in architecture, is the president of NOMAS and has played a leading role in designing the gardens with his fellow group members. He said the gardens’ design of three intersecting circles reflects King’s principles and teachings.

The bust of Dr. King will stand as an “anchor point” at the intersection of the circles, which will represent three of his core principles, Hildebrandt said.

One will be a “reflection” circle with landscaping and vegetation to provide a peaceful environment. Another circle will symbolize “action” to commemorate the action people took during the civil rights era and to acknowledge donors’ contributions to the gardens; a timeline of King’s life and the civil rights era will be included on a wall in this circle. The third circle represents “education” and is designed as a gathering place for classes and other groups to meet, Hildebrandt said.

“All of us have worked really hard on this project, and we’re very proud of it,” Hildebrandt said.

Clarence Oxendine, fifth-year student in landscape architecture and member of NOMAS, said the group started designing the gardens in fall 2006. Soon, the university will have an architectural firm construct drawings from the students’ completed designs. These drawings will be used in the actual construction of the gardens.

“They take our design and make it a reality,” Oxendine said.

He said the design was a combination of several students’ ideas.

Hildebrandt said Colette Hamilton, graduate student in architecture, contributed to the main design, and Jeremy Anterola, graduate student in landscape architecture, dealt with the technical details and costs.

“We want people to see it from the public realm, so not only current students but prospective students could see it from 17th Street, from Bosco Plaza,” Oxendine said. “We want to let them know the significance of what came about in [Ahearn].”

To raise money for the gardens, K-State is hosting an event called “Bring Forty to Celebrate Dr. King” on Thursday, Jan. 24 from noon to 5 p.m. outside the KSDB-FM 91.9 radio station in the K-State Student Union. The Martin Luther King Jr. Planning Committee is encouraging each student organization (or any individuals who want to participate) to donate at least $40 to the fund to commemorate the 40th anniversary of King’s visit to K-State.

“We want to make her [Dr. Gordon], the university, and everyone who will be affected by the project proud,” Hildebrandt said.