At a time when hierarchical monuments throughout the South are being removed for their racial overtones, this American Civil Rights Memorial combines sculpture, landscape, and poetry to create an interactive and educational experience inspiring future generations to stand up for social justice and positive change. I AM A MAN Plaza is a landscape sculpture commissioned to honor the members of the pivotal 1968 Sanitation Workers’ Strike and the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. A focal point of the Civil Rights Movement, the strike brought Dr. King to Memphis, Tennessee, in support of the Strikers, when he was assassinated. The I AM A MAN slogan came to represent the struggle for racial equality in Memphis and beyond. The Plaza rejoins this history to the people of Memphis and to the historic Clayborn Temple located next to it.

The artist led a design team and held an open dialogue with the greater Memphis community. Through a series of public workshops, they selected pertinent historical text and created an original poem which are etched into the marble gates defining the Plaza’s entry. The Strike’s timeline of events is carved into a large elliptical granite paving ring and the Striker’s 1,300 names are etched into the Dedicatory Wall framing the central sculpture. The block letters of the 12-feet-tall I AM A MAN sculpture are built of bronze on one side of the sculpture and mirror-polished stainless steel on the other side, reflecting the dialectical struggle for racial equality. The block letters are laser cut with the text from Dr. King’s last speech in Memphis. The combination of text and sculpture provide a place for reflection and discussion on America’s struggle and progress with racism and class inequity since the Sanitation Workers and Dr. King took their historic stand in Memphis.