BURLINGTON, Vt. – One day after the nation paused to recognize the life of Martin Luther King, Jr., Sen. Bernie Sanders joined students and educators at a Burlington elementary school to unveil a statue of the civil rights leader.

The unveiling, along with the senator’s visit, provided students an opportunity to learn about King’s legacy. Sanders, who attended King’s historic “I Have a Dream” speech in Washington, D.C. in 1963, spoke passionately about the contributions of the civil rights leader.

"We honor Martin Luther King, Jr. because he was one of the great intellectual and moral leaders of the 20th century,” Sanders said. “Today, as our country faces enormous problems with the increase in poverty and the decline of the middle class; with environmental issues that threaten the long-term well being of our planet, we would be well served to learn from the legacy of his extraordinary life.” 

The statue was created by sculptor Chris Sharp, an art teacher at Burlington High School. The sculpture presented at Burlington’s Integrated Arts Academy at H.O. Wheeler is one of 17 that will be distributed to schools throughout the country; 19 of the statues were created, in all. (Read more about Sharp in the Washington Post)

Wheeler’s students, who are from diverse backgrounds, peppered Sanders and the statue’s artist about the statue’s design and King’s legacy. The school has welcomed the refugee community and roughly 30 languages are spoken within its halls by pupils from 20 different countries. “What this school demonstrates is that people from other backgrounds can get along just fine,” Sanders said.

Sharp said he started working on the statues three years ago.

“Art and culture have the power to transform. To make our lives better,” Sharp said, during the unveiling.

One of the elementary students asked Sharp why he wanted to sculpt King, in particular. The high school art teacher recalled when a teacher played King’s “I Have a Dream Speech” to his class while he was a student.  (Watch King’s historic speech.)

“When I heard those words, I literally cried … that moment stuck with me for all my life,” the sculptor said.

“Everyone in this room can take your own inspiration and turn it into anything you want. That’s what art is about,” Sanders said.