Utah unveiled and launched a new specialty license plate honoring Martin Luther King Jr. and diversity. The design of the new plate was selected in a statewide design contest.
Representatives from the Martin Luther King Jr. Human Rights Commission and Utah Division of Multicultural Affairs gathered with Gov. Spencer Cox Thursday at the Utah State Capitol.
Because of restrictions over the use of Dr. King’s image, the commission reached out to Utah youth to create artwork that represented his principles of non-violence, his hope for unity and his legacy.
The commission unveiled the winning artwork for the license plate in January. Artwork created by Timpview High School student Eleanor Smith was selected for the design.
“The design itself is a multicultural display of hands encompassing the state of Utah and the slogan, ‘Many Stories, One Utah,’ to inspire unity and connectedness,” said MLK Jr. Commission Chair Simba Maponga.
The commission’s former chair, Emma E. Houston, commended the state’s efforts and willingness to create the commemorative plate.
“We are proud to live in a state that honors the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and the non-violent tenets he espoused during his lifetime,” she said.
The initiate to create the plates began nearly a decade ago.
Former Utah Multicultural Commission member and former State Rep. Rebecca Chavez-Houck (D-Salt Lake City) and her co-sponsor, then-Sen. Howard Stephenson (R-Draper), filed the bill in 2012.
Chavez-Houck said in January that she was grateful that the project is finishing up and she was excited to see the plate on Utah roads.
“I’m so pleased to see these efforts, with which I was honored to be a part when I first sponsored the initial legislation in 2012, come to fruition,” she said.
Gov. Spencer Cox noted all the people who worked to create the license plate and the efforts to celebrate diversity in the community and “improve the human condition.”
“There are those moments when the hard work of so many comes together and we get to celebrate – and this is one of those moments,” he said. “We have to take advantage of those moments, even if they’re symbolic. Symbols matter, and Dr. King understood that.”
Gox. Cox said the plate represented one of those symbols.
“It’s a moment in time for all of us to reflect on how far we’ve come, and then look to the future on how far we still have to go,” he said.
The plate will be available through a request to replace a current license plate and will cost $21.