A new public sculpture, “Our Single Garment of Destiny,” was unveiled at the Washington Gladden Social Justice Park on Martin Luther King Day, January 18, 2021, to a small gathering.

The sculpture, created by Julian and Adriana Voss-Andreae, was inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.” The sculptor team drew inspiration from Dr. King’s quote:

"Moreover, I am cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities and states. I cannot sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned about what happens in Birmingham. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly."

The sculpture weighs three tons and made of thin vertical plates that make up the forms of six people. These vertical plates seem to disappear when viewed at a certain angle, producing a dual metaphor. One that shows how a diverse group of unified people can build movements to make a transformational change while the other shows that when you cause suffering to others, we are also inflicting suffering to ourselves.

The creation of the sculpture was made possible by donations from Loann Crane, the Crane family, and the Crane Group.

The Washington Gladden Social Justice Park is located at the corner of East Broad Street and Cleveland Avenue in the heart of the Discovery District. Opened in 2018, it is the nation’s first park dedicated to the theme of social justice and named after Rev. Dr. Washington Gladden, the father of the Social Gospel movement. The park’s goal is to bring Columbus together to build the path to a better future through art, education, and dialogue.