It depicts King plus three allegorical sculptures: a man who symbolizes the American worker, a woman who represents immigration, and a young girl shown releasing King's coattail, who represents, according to Dente, the "letting go" that occurs when people sacrifice their time and energy to engage in a struggle.

Lee P. Brown and Vera Katz, mayors of Houston and Portland, respectively, were present at the dedication ceremony.

[4] According to Dente, the working-class man "has come to the realization and made the decision to step forward to announce his support for the universal message of equality, freedom and justice".

[1] Dente described the girl's release of King's coattail as "a 'letting go' process when one or more members of a family is called away to contribute their energy and time to a concept and struggle of greatest importance to all people of the world".

[1] Paul Knauls, a local resident and entrepreneur who was described as the "unofficial mayor" of Northeast Portland,[8] was "instrumental" in securing funding for the sculpture's design.

Oregon's Congressional delegation wrote appeals to large companies, requesting their support at the breakfast.

[10] John Jenkins, chairman of the foundation, said in a statement announcing the statue and its dedication: Our dream began in the hearts of the students at Martin Luther King Jr., Elementary School nearly ten years ago.

"[6] Dedication ceremony attendees included local educator Laverne Davis, who served as "Mistress of Ceremonies"; Lee P. Brown and Vera Katz, mayors of Houston and Portland, respectively; Mike Burton of the regional government Metro; Charles Jordan, director of Portland Parks & Recreation; Bishop A.