FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) — Sixty years after Martin Luther King Jr. visited Fort Wayne to give a speech, his son and the City of Fort Wayne worked to dedicate a public monument in honor of the visit.

Martin Luther King III helped city and community leaders dedicate the monument, titled “Pillars of Hope and Justice,” at the northwest corner of Main and Ewing streets.

Martin Luther King III (podium) speaks during a ceremony in Fort Wayne dedicating a monument to his father, Martin Luther King Jr, on June 5, 2023.

In 2020, Fort Wayne City Council passed a resolution spearheaded by Councilwoman Michelle Chambers and Councilman Russ Jehl that started the process to create a public display honoring King’s speech in Fort Wayne on June 5, 1963.

King III said the monument not only represents something unique for Fort Wayne, but also represents his father’s overall message.

“Words are the way that we express ourselves, and they are forever,” King III said.

Following the dedication ceremony, officials held a celebration at the University of Saint Francis Robert Goldstine Performing Arts Center where King gave his 1963 speech.