2017 Annual MLK Birthday Celebration — Ceremony on the Plaza Welcoming Back the Broken Obelisk

Rothko Chapel

In honor of the life and work of the Rev. Dr. King, our Annual Celebration began with a ceremony on the plaza to welcome the return of the Broken Obelisk by Barnett Newman after a year away for conservation. The event included words by Rev. Dr. Marcus Cosby, Wheeler Baptist Church Senior Pastor; Harris County Precinct One Commissioner Rodney Ellis; Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee; Gary Tinterow, Director of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; a capella performances by Edwina Hubbard; and original poems performed by Jackson Neal, 2016 Meta-four Houston Youth Poetry Slam team member, and Fareena Arefeen, City of Houston's second Youth Poet Laureate, an initiative led by Writers in the Schools, the City of Houston, and the Houston Public Library.