April 4 will mark the 58th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s assasination in Memphis, Tennessee. For residents of Indianapolis, this date carries additional meaning, because Robert F. Kennedy was in the city when he learned of King’s death.
The site where Kennedy announced his death to a crowd that evening, as part of an impromptu speech, is now part of a park bearing the civil rights leader’s name.
This year, on April 4, the park will have a grand reopening, celebrating new renovations, including new outdoor exhibits. The commemoration event will be hosted by the Kennedy King Memorial Initiative (KKMI).
If you go
Dr. Martin Luther King Park Grand Reopening
🗓️ Noon to 6 p.m., Saturday, April 4
📍 Kennedy King Park Center, 601 E. 17th St.
🎟️ Free
These renovations and expansion are part of the MLK Gateway Project, which broke ground in April 2025 and which cost about $6.8 million, funded primarily through the city of Indianapolis and Indy Parks.
The commemoration ceremony with special speakers and community awards will begin at 5 p.m. and will include a playback of Kennedy’s speech.
Other activities that day will start at noon with the reopening of the KKMI Visitor’s Center, community conversations and art installations.
Rep. Gregory Porter, D-Ind., the KKMI board chair, emphasized that the commemoration and renovation of the park are part of an ongoing process.
“We want the new construction to continue to raise the awareness of 1968 and continue to provoke thought and eliminate the division and injustice that’s happening in America today. It still rears its ugly head,” he said.
Porter also emphasized the buy-in that members of the community feel toward the park as it sits within the Kennedy-King neighborhood, near several surrounding Near Northside communities — including Herron-Morton Place, Old Northside, Fall Creek Place, Mapleton-Fall Creek and Monon Yard.
Porter recalled a community discussion in which the question addressed was “What do you want your park to look like?”
Issues raised by some community members include the need for enhanced lighting and security cameras, and these have been incorporated as part of the wider MLK Gateway Project.
Other improvements include walkways, landscape improvements, a new plaza and an expanded Landmark for Peace Memorial.
Kamerson Walker, 31, lives in the Herron-Morton neighborhood. Although he said he’s been busy and didn’t know about the reopening celebrations or participate in feedback sessions, he says additional lights in the park are welcome.
“I’ve been waiting on lights for years,” he said. “When I say years, I mean years. I’ve been playing basketball in this park since I was little.”
Walker said he’ll bring his five sons to the park to play and hopes the pool opens in the summer.
The Kennedy-King memorial site is recognized by the National Park Service as a National Commemorative site. While the question of whether the memorial should be managed at the federal level has been raised, the site remains under city control. Which is a good thing, according to Porter, who emphasized the need for local management at this particular point in history.
“We want it to be a historical site, but we want to do it in the right way, so that we won’t lose it, so it won’t wind up like the Kennedy Center and change his name or add another name to it and dilute the importance of that space,” Porter said.
Porter, who has served on the board for more than a decade, is looking forward to honoring those who continue to support the mission of the Kennedy-King Initiative during the ceremony.
“We’ll be acknowledging a couple of individuals who have worked hard in the community in an organization that has continued to fight for inclusion and human rights and civil rights here in the city and across the state,” he said.
Mirror Indy, a nonprofit newsroom, is funded through grants and donations from individuals, foundations and organizations.
Dan Grossman is a Mirror Indy freelance contributor. You can reach him at dan@indycorrespondent.org.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
