Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Park | MLK Park in Indianapolis

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.