Senator Robert Kennedy was visiting Indianapolis on April 4, 1986, the day that Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. On this night, he delivered a speech with a message of love and unity and justice. It was in this park that the speech was made and where a memorial now stands.
The Landmark for Peace Monument
The Kennedy-King Landmark for Peace Monument and Park is a part of the National Parks Service African American Civil Rights Network, a network made up of “properties, facilities, and interpretive programs, all of which present a comprehensive narrative of the people, places, and events associated with African American Civil Rights movement in the United States.” (NPS)
Robert F. Kennedy Speech at 17th & Broadway in Indianapolis
In 2018, the Landmark for Peace Memorial and the Kennedy-King Park were designated as a National Commemorative Site.
MLK Park Playground and Attractions
Kennedy-King Park is known to locals as the Martin Luther King Park. This Indianapolis park has one of the most beautiful basketball courts in the city, a family center, a large playground with many modern play pieces and giant climbing features, a swimming pool and splash pad.
Art and Memorials
A excerpt of Robert F. Kennedy’s speech is inscribed on a large metal panel. It reads:
“What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence and lawlessness, but is love, and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country…”
There’s a beautiful mural of Martin Luther King Jr. on the exterior wall of an apartment building adjacent to the park.
The centerpiece of the park is of course the Kennedy-King Landmark for Peace, a sculpture that depicts both Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. reaching towards one another.
1701 Broadway St