BUFFALO, N.Y. — As we get closer to celebrating the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., community leaders are planning to re-dedicate the bust at MLK Park.
The statue has been the source of controversy in recent years because it doesn't look like Dr. King.
There's been a push in recent years to remove the bust at MLK Park and replace it with a statue that looks like the prominent civil rights leader.
Community activist Sam Herbert created a petition to take the bust down.
"Again, I say they never said when they were asking for money to build a statue of Dr. King that they say, 'We are raising money to build a symbolistic statue in the legacy of a black man.' To hell with that," Herbert said.
Looking to dispel that narrative, the Buffalo African American Museum on Saturday they will rededicate the MLK bust.
"It was never intended to look like King," said Clifford Bell, the chairman of the Buffalo African American Museum.
He was here in 1983 when the bust, created by renowned sculptor John Wilson, was unveiled.
"It was awesome a thing of that magnitude in this park, and they said, 'Wow,' " Bell said, "supposed to represent strong manhood black culture and strength."
"Most artists and people who do this kind of work, they do it based on their vision of what it represents, or how they feel about the piece of work. Now, if this was supposed to look exactly like (Dr. King), well, then get a photograph put it on a pole and it'll look like whatever you look like," he added.
Bell hopes Saturday's re-dedication clears up any confusion.
"And when they hear the story that he presented when he got the commission to do it, they'll have a better understanding of what it represents," Bell said.
The re-dedication will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday at Calvary Baptist Church in Buffalo and will feature music and speakers who were there when the statue was unveiled.
There will also be a permanent exhibit unveiled near the MLK bust explaining how it came about.