Sculptor Ed Dwight Will Design Statue of Xernona Clayton
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the giants in both the media and civil rights arena. She is
respected throughout the world, but Atlanta is her home.
Sculptor Ed Dwight is preparing to create a memorial to
Clayton that visitors to Georgia can admire and residents
here can take pride in. Dwight is designing an 8 ft.
Bronze Sculpture of Clayton that will be erected at Xernona
Clayton Plaza. This honor will make Clayton the
first Black woman to have a statue erected in downtown
Atlanta, and she is the first Black woman to have a street
named in her honor.
selected by her to receive the famous Trumpet Award, some
years back. I approach this project with excitement and will
use my creativity & experience to create a memorial worthy of
her myriad accomplishments & powerful personality. Xernona
Clayton is not only a gift to Atlanta, but a gift to the world.
It is more than appropriate that she be properly memorialized
& remembered for her work in the cause of racial progress &
justice,” said Dwight.
Rick Baker and journalist Mariela Romero, both of whom
wanted to pay homage to Clayton. “Xernona Clayton’s actions
during the civil rights era and afterward improved conditions
for all people in this country. She is not only a woman of
strength and character, but she also brings out courage and
determination in others, and because of that, we want to honor
her legacy with a monument. She is an eternal inspiration
to us, and we want her to continue to inspire future generations
as well,” the couple said.
African American Astronaut candidate, was commissioned
for the assignment based upon his outstanding
work in projects that illuminated and celebrated the African
American experience. Dwight has dedicated the last
33 years of his life solely to his artistic endeavors. Among
his works are a Traveling Exhibit of a Sculpture Memorial
to the Inaugural Ceremony of President Barack Obama
and his family; A Tulsa Race Riot Memorial featuring two
major sculptural installations on the sight of the 1921
Tulsa Race Riots.
Trumpet Awards Foundation, Inc. and Creator and Executive
Producer of the Foundation’s Trumpet Awards. She was
the first black person in the south to have her own television
show, The Xernona Clayton Show. She was employed at
Turner Broadcasting for nearly 30 years where she served as
a corporate executive. Her autobiography I’ve been Marching
All the Time was published in 1991. She is a member of
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
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