August 6, 2025
Winter Park, Florida, locals are scratching their heads over the design of a new MLK Jr. statue.
A Florida community is expressing its disappointment following the unveiling of a costly Martin Luther King Jr. statue locals are calling “awkward.”
Winter Park, Florida, came together last month for the unveiling of “Ripple,” a larger-than-life-size bronze statue honoring the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., WESH reports. The new statue is a joint project of the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) and the Parks & Recreation Department, in partnership with the MLK/Shady Park Planning Committee, to dedicate Unity Corner within Martin Luther King, Jr. Park.
What was intended to be a proud moment for the city instead left many residents shocked and let down by the design of the bronzed civil rights icon.
“I was a little. I don’t know, shocked. It didn’t look quite like I thought it would or thought it should,” Winter Park resident Jordan Chew said.
“On one side, oh yeah, I like it. On the other side, it doesn’t look like him,” added Nora Koenecke.
Jonathan Blount, co-founder of Essence Magazine, spoke directly with Winter Park Commissioners about the “awkward” statue that he says falls short of the community’s expectations.
“His feet was too big, his head was too big. His arm was too big and it looked really like a caricature of Dr. King and really didn’t look anything like him,” Blount said.
Sculptor Andrew Luy, of Huntsville, Alabama, designed the statue, explaining that its deeper meaning is reflected in its name, “Ripple.”
“Just as a single drop of water creates multiple expanding waves, so too does Dr. King’s influence,” Luy said, according to the city’s Facebook page.
He says he didn’t receive any criticism from the King family after receiving their approval to design the statue.
“I didn’t have direct contact with the King estate, but from what I heard, they were very happy with the representation of the sculpture of Dr. King,” Luy said.
The city describes the statue’s outstretched hand as a nod to the iconic gesture Dr. King often made while speaking, symbolizing his calm and peaceful presence. The city chose to honor the families who once lived on the land where the park now stands by inscribing their names into the black granite memorial walls below the statue.
Winter Park Mayor Sheila DeCiccio acknowledged the community’s concerns, but is unsure what steps can be taken, given the significant investment already made in the project.
“Maybe it didn’t come out the way everybody had hoped it would,” DeCiccio said. “I hear what you’re saying, don’t know what we can do at this point. It was a very big investment.”
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