Fayetteville's Martin Luther King Jr. park continues to grab attention of local residents

After more than 20 years of advocating for Fayetteville's Martin Luther King Jr. Park, community members are rejoicing over state funding to renovate the park and look toward the future. 

The park will receive $2.5 million as part of funding for the revitalization of the Murchison Road Corridor. In total, the park will get $7 million toward reconstruction, with the additional $2.5 million from Cumberland County and $2 million from the city of Fayetteville. 

Since the early 1990s, the MLK Park Committee has worked to get investments for the park. The land, which was allotted to the committee in 1996, has a rich history in the city they would like to be highlighted. 

According to a former member of the committee, Aaron Johnson, the city bought the land and tore down the deteriorated houses that were on the land, serving as a turning point for the Murchison Road Corridor. 

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"We want to make the park attractive to draw people to appreciate and to keep the work of Dr. Martin Luther King going," he said. 

Wilson Lacy, president of the committee, is one of the few members of the committee who have been there since its start, as most of the original members have since died. 

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Lacy said that the renovations to the park would not only commemorate the contributions of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. but also people who have made a difference in Fayetteville. 

It has been a long-term goal of the committee to have a 120-foot spire built at the park. The spire would include a light on the top that would be lit on special celebrations of important King milestones,  such as his birthday. Lacy said there would also be pieces of history at the bottom of the spire. 

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"In the circular bottom of the spire that you have there, we will have several quotes from Dr. King," he said. "We will have plaques that will represent, let's say (the) first Black city councilperson and maybe first judges in the community and things like that. So, the history as I'm putting it will not be lost for the younger generation." 

Lacy said his goal is to put a spin on the unity of multiple ethnicities in Fayetteville and add some positivity. 

"The last two or three days, we've had a lot of killing, and I would hope that this would bring some positive image to Fayetteville and relate to what Dr. King stood for and what the citizens of Fayetteville are trying to do on a positive note and not so much negative." 

Recently, two Black men have been killed in Fayetteville, sparking multiple rallies, memorials and protests. Stephen Addison was shot by a motorist following a traffic dispute, and Jason Walker was shot by an off-duty Cumberland County sheriff's deputy. 

Lacy said the committee is now working with engineers to develop the design for the spire and are anticipating construction to start in the fall. 

Cumberland County Commissioner Glenn Adams shared his admiration of the effort of the committee to continuously push to improve the park. 

"Over the years, they have really worked hard in terms of trying to get funding," he said. "They're a committed group to try to keep raising funds. They've gone to the state to get some funds, they've gone to the city, they've come to the county and I think we've all chipped in to try to make this a reality." 

Adams said with this funding for the park, "it's just an exciting time, I think, for Murchison Road."  

Staff writer Akira Kyles can be reached at akyles@gannett.com.