DeKALB | The meeting place for many students between Founders Memorial Library and the Holmes Student Center has a rich history of which students might not be aware.

On Dec. 8, 1983, the Board of Regents/Trustees approved the name “Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Commons.” The committee behind that decision felt the name would fit with the free speech atmosphere enjoyed in the 1960s, according to NIU archives.

“The King Commons, as with any building praising and honoring black people, doesn’t come without struggle,” said Van Amos, program coordinator for the Center for Black Studies. “It was a difficult journey.”

Though it had already been given a name, the area between the library and the student center wasn’t fully constructed until the early 1990s. The large sculpture, named “Balance of Equality,” is based on King’s “Christmas Sermon on Peace” and was installed in the fall of 1991. Two quotes from the speech are engraved on the base of the sculpture. It was created by sculptor Dann Nardi and chosen in a national competition as a piece to honor King in 1990.

“The art piece is very important,” Amos said. “Very few campuses have an art piece such as a sculpture for Martin Luther King, not just a bust.”

When the area was completed, a dedication ceremony was held Sept. 17, 1993. The ceremony featured speakers such as NAACP president Benjamin Hooks, then-NIU president John La Tourette, and various members of the Commons Dedication Committee, which represented students, faculty and staff.

Aside from representing free speech, the MLK Commons also represents unity. Located in the center of campus, it serves as a meeting place for students to come together.

“Everyone came together to fund that project and it became a success,” Amos said.