Austin in Chicago in Cook County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Chieftan Statue

Photographed by Sean Flynn, May 28, 2024

1. Chieftan Statue Marker

Inscription. Locally famous sculptor Geraldine McCullough's impressive 7 foot tall bronze casting portrays Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as an African 15th Century Benin chieftain. The casting was commissioned to create a symbol of peace following the riots of 1968 after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King.

The tiger-tooth necklace indicates courage, and the side shields of the mask, one who shuns evil. The sculptor noted a similarity between King's facial features and those of the tribal group inhabiting ancient Benin in southern Nigeria and decided to portray her subject as a Bini ruler.

She was aware that Benin was famous for the great artistic merits of its bronze castings; and, just as the sculpture of Benin has a complex symbolism, so too has her bronze image of the civil rights leader. To call attention to his philosophy of nonviolence, she placed in one hand a broken sword with cross-shaped handle.

The

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other hand holds a prayer wheel, meant to refer to universal prayer and Gandhi's philosophy of passive resistance. Around the figure's muscular neck are a necklace of tigers' teeth worn by Bini royalty and the Nobel Peace Prize medallion awarded to King in 1964. The row of heads of people on the crown represents King's followers. Above is a dove of peace.

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that."
Dr. Martin Luther King

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Arts, Letters, Music • Civil Rights • Women. In addition, it is included in the Martin Luther King, Jr. series list. A significant historical date for this entry is January 15, 1973.

Location. 41° 53.712′ N, 87° 44.76′ W. Marker is in Chicago, Illinois, in Cook County. It is in Austin. It is at the intersection of Cicero Avenue (Illinois Route 50) and West Chicago Avenue, on the left

Photographed by Sean Flynn, July 30, 2024

2. MLK statue

The statue was first dedicated on January 15, 1973—what would have been Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s 44th birthday—about 3 miles from here, on Madison Street near Kedzie Avenue in the East Garfield Park neighborhood. It was relocated here at Chicago and Cicero avenues in 2015.

when traveling north on Cicero Avenue. The marker is affixed to the pedestal holding the statue. It sits in Peace and Justice Plaza, in front of the Westside Health Authority's Austin Wellness Center. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 4800 West Chicago Avenue, Chicago IL 60651, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the American Midwest.

Globally, it is in North America,

on the Great Lakes,

in the Western Hemisphere,

in the Western World,

and in the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Viceroyalty of New France,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

and the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: George Halas (approx. 1.1 miles away); Shrine of Our Lady of Fréchou (approx. 1.1 miles away); Marie Schock House (approx. 1.3

MLK statue side view image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean Flynn, July 30, 2024

3. MLK statue side view

In the statue's left hand is a broken sword with cross-shaped handle; his right hand is holding a prayer wheel. Above his crown is a dove.

miles away); F.R. Schock Houses (approx. 1.3 miles away); The Austin Neighborhood Renaissance (approx. 1.3 miles away); Reverend Jesse Taylor (approx. 1.3 miles away); The Reverend Doctor Shelvin Jerome Hall (approx. 1.3 miles away); Joseph Jacob Walser House (approx. 1.4 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Chicago.

Another marker is no longer nearby. Hitchcock House (was approx. 1.2 miles away but has been confirmed missing).

More about this marker. A brief in the January 17, 1973, edition of the Oak Leaves newspaper, from Oak Park, Illinois, the Chicago suburb where artist Geraldine McCullough lived, said that this sculpture was titled "Our King." It's not certain when the "Chieftan" name (without the "i" in "chieftain," as spelled in the text of the plaque itself) was attached to the sculpture, be it in 2015 or prior to that.

Regarding Chieftan Statue. This statue by Geraldine

MLK statue street view image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean Flynn, July 30, 2024

4. MLK statue street view

The statue as seen from Chicago Avenue; Cicero Avenue runs on the right side.

McCullough was originally commissioned to sit in front of the Martin Luther King Jr. Plaza Apartments on the 3200 West block of Madison Street (near Kedzie Avenue) in the East Garfield Park neighborhood, about three miles (by car) southeast of here. The apartments replaced an earlier housing complex that had burned down in the riots that gripped Chicago’s west side after Dr. King’s assassination in 1968. The statue was dedicated in front of the soon-to-be-finished apartments on January 15, 1973—what would have been Dr. King's 44th birthday—at a ceremony that included Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley as well as McCullough herself. According to the Oak Leaves newspaper from January 17, 1973, the sculpture (which it said was titled "Our King") consisted of "14 individual molds, each poured with a special formulation of bronze."

Visible from Madison Street for the next four decades, the statue was in poor condition by the

A close-in view of the statue image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean Flynn, July 30, 2024

5. A close-in view of the statue

The side shield visible on the side of the head symbolizes, according to the plaque on the front of the statue, "one who shuns evil."

2000s, its concrete pedestal crumbling and residents worried that it would topple, according to a 2011 report by WBBM-TV (Channel 2, Chicago’s CBS affiliate). That year, the statue was moved to storage.

Soon thereafter, the West Side Historical Society drove efforts to repair and rededicate the statue. After three years of work, it obtained possession of the statue, and secured a new location for it in front of the Westside Health Authority’s Austin Wellness Center. In 2015, it was rededicated at a one-year anniversary celebration of Mandela Road, a stretch of Cicero Avenue between Roosevelt Road and Grand Avenue that was designated in honor of the former South African leader. The new location was dubbed Peace and Justice Plaza.

Sculptor Geraldine McCullough was born in Arkansas, grew up in Chicago and spent the last half of her life as a resident of Oak Park, a near-west suburb of Chicago about two miles from this

Geraldine McCullough's MLK statue in Springfield, Illinois image. Click for full size.

Carol M. Highsmith Archive, Library of Congress, circa 2019

6. Geraldine McCullough's MLK statue in Springfield, Illinois

Another statue of Martin Luther King by Geraldine McCullough can be found near the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield, about 200 miles southwest of the Chieftan statue of MLK in Chicago. The first statue of a non-Illinoisan displayed at the State Capitol complex, it was unveiled on January 15, 1988—what would have been Martin Luther King's 59th birthday, and exactly 15 years to the day after the Chieftan statue was dedicated in Chicago in 1973.

statue. McCullough taught at Wendell Phillips High School on the city's south side and later at Rosary College (now Dominican University) in suburban River Forest. Other McCullough sculptures in Illinois include a different statue of Martin Luther King, across the street from the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield; "The Spirit of Du Sable," at the Du Sable Museum of African American History sculpture garden on Chicago's south side; "Pathfinder," in front of Oak Park's Village Hall; and “Phoenix Rising,” in west suburban Maywood. She died in 2008 at the age of 91.

Also see . . .
1. Work of Legendary Sculptress, Former Maywoodian Geraldine McCullough Resurrected in Chicago. From the Village Free Press

Excerpt: “The statue symbolizes a struggle,” said Reed. “It symbolizes what we can build when we come together. When we look at the lives of Mandela and King, we know they struggled. Those men lost their families
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and were threatened with murder. King died young. But their dreams became realities.”

(Submitted on May 9, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)

2. Public Art in Chicago: Chieftan Statue - by Geraldine McCullough.

Excerpt: "The statue was originally installed in 1973, on the site where a structure had been burned down during the rioting that followed King's death and a new MLK Plaza Apartment complex was constructed. The statue commemorates King's time when he came to west side to start the Chicago Freedom Movement to protest the deplorable tenement housing Blacks lived in."

(Submitted on May 28, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)

3. Oak Park River Forest Museum: Geraldine McCullough.

Excerpt: “[H]er husband Lester was a welder and she became fascinated with the process. After he taught her the basics of his trade, her vision of creating large-scale metal sculptures exploded as she entered her second act, moving beyond secondary education to the university and to international recognition as a modern sculptor who freely incorporated influences from her own culture and was often inspired by a diversity of cultures and eras.”

(Submitted on May 28, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)

4. A king comes to Mandela Road. From Austin Weekly News, a news article about this statue’s 2015 rededication. (Submitted on May 28, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)

Credits. This page was last revised on May 9, 2025. It was originally submitted on May 28, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. This page has been viewed 785 times since then and 69 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on May 28, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. 3, 4, 5. submitted on July 31, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. 6. submitted on May 29, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.