‘It’s back alive again’: Sculptor of Denver MLK monument repairs vandalism

DENVER — The Martin Luther King Jr. memorial in Denver’s City Park is whole again after it was vandalized earlier this year.

Ed Dwight, the artist who created the sculpture, helped repair it. 

“This kind of broke my heart just a little bit mainly because of what they took,” Dwight said. “And how they emasculated it, really, that just blew me away.”

In February, someone stole a torch, a choir singer and a plaque from the monument. Two men were later arrested after they tried to sell the pieces as scrap metal, Denver Police said. One of the suspects pleaded guilty and was sentenced earlier this month. The other is due in court for an arraignment on Nov. 7. 

Denver Parks and Recreation maintenance staff noticed the pieces missing from the monument on Feb. 21 and reported the theft to police. Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas said the police department sent out an alert to local scrap metal companies, and two days later, one of the scrap companies reported the stolen items had been turned in.

The large plaque stolen from the “I Have a Dream” monument was cut into four pieces before it was sold to the company, police said.

Dwight said the plaque depicts the slave trade and, historically, the beginning of the memorial’s story.

“We had to fashion them back together,” Dwight said. “There’s a thing in the trades called ‘chasing.’ So once we put a little extra metal, we chase it off with a wood file, sandblast it and color it.”

He said had the piece been flat, the repairs wouldn’t have taken as much time, but its curve made the process more difficult. 

“We had to come and measure and to see how much we had to bend more or stretch it more to fit,” Dwight said.

He said refinishing the memorial took about six months. Now, it’s back to being a complete story of a Civil Rights activist and the struggles and triumphs he endured.

“I came by here just to visit the other day and just, it’s back alive again,” Dwight said. “Yes! With hopes it won’t happen again.”

As for the other pieces, the torch and choir singer, Dwight said they were reattached with stronger reinforcements. 

“We closed that loop on the torch so you can’t get a grinder behind there to get it loose,” Dwight said.

After the vandalism, former Denver Mayor Wellington Webb and first lady Wilma Webb called for additional security, like cameras and lights, at the monument. 9NEWS reached out to Denver police to ask if this has been added, but we have not heard back.