Statue of Martin Luther King Jr. unveiled in Atlanta

ATLANTA -- The daughter of civil-rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. stood beside her father's newly unveiled statue Monday, just a few blocks from where he grew up, handing out hugs and telling each well-wisher: "It's about time."

The statue paying tribute to King made its public debut Monday morning on the Georgia Capitol grounds in front of about 800 people, including Gov. Nathan Deal, many other state political leaders and several members of the King family.

The sculpture's installation comes more than three years after Georgia lawmakers endorsed the project.

"Forty-nine years ago when my father was assassinated, he was the most hated man in America. Today, he is one of the most loved men in the world," the Rev. Bernice King said of her father, who was slain in 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee.

A replica of the nation's Liberty Bell tolled three times before the nearly 8-foot-tall bronze statue was unveiled on the 54th anniversary of King's "I Have a Dream" speech at the 1963 March on Washington.

Yolanda King, 9, left, the granddaughter of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., holds the hand of her mother Arndrea Waters King during a ceremony Monday unveiling a statue paying tribute to the civil-rights leader on the state Capitol grounds in Atlanta.David Goldman ~ Associated Press

The statue depicts King in mid-stride, holding a jacket and grasping a batch of papers.

Bernice King said her father gave the nation a sense of hope in a time of turmoil, and his statue can serve a similar purpose today.

Bringing the statue into reality took multiple struggles.

Officials had to negotiate with King's family for the right to use his image.

Then an artist was selected for the project, only to be killed in a motorcycle accident.

After a lengthy screening, sculptor Martin Dawe was chosen to replace him.

Dawe said he knew other tributes to King had been criticized, and he set one goal: make the statue look like the man.

King's statue was erected in his Southern hometown at a time when monuments honoring Civil War Confederates are coming down in many other places across the South.

"This tribute is important and a lasting statement about the value of inclusion, the strength of our diversity and the power of grace and how it changes hearts," Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed said.

"This statue comes at a time when there are many conversations about historical monuments going on nationally and within the state. When the time comes, I'm confident in the city of Atlanta that we will walk it together as we have again, again and again," he said.

Reed said $50 million is being invested to redevelop the Martin Luther King Jr. drive corridor to improve mobility and safety.

The mayor also said a $28.7 million MLK Recreation and Aquatic Center will be opened in Atlanta by the end of the year.

Morehouse College professor Timothy Miller kicked off the ceremony singing Ray Charles' song, "Georgia on My Mind."