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Monuments and Memorials
Mahatma Gandhi
The concept of the Peace Garden at Fresno State was born when
a memorial for Mahatma Gandhi, prophet of nonviolence and Father
of the Human Rights Movement in the 20th Century, was dedicated
on October 2, 1990.
The memorial was the result of combined efforts of students,
faculty, staff and administration at Fresno State. Various community
groups provided financial assistance.
The four-foot, 1,500-pound Gandhi bronze bust, designed by Fresno
Artist James Zerl Smith, was poured in the Fresno State Art Department
Foundry.
Cesar E. Chavez
The first life-size monument in the nation of the late Cesar
E. Chavez was dedicated in the Fresno State Peace Garden on March
31, 1996.
Mr. Chavez was the leader of the United Farm Worker's Union
who waged a nonviolent struggle against social injustice, oppression
and human suffering experienced by his people, especially the
farm workers in an affluent society.
Artist Paul Suarez of Roseville created the compelling image
of Mr. Chavez reaching out to the people. The bronze sculpture
is nine and one-half feet tall and three and one-half feet wide.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
On January 18, 1998, the 80th birthday of Martin Luther King,
Jr., a Peace Garden Statue was unveiled and dedicated.
Artist Richard Blake, an Assistant Professor of Art History
at West Chester University in Pennsylvania, created the six-foot-tall
bronze sculpture that sits on a stone base.
The 500-pound statue depicts Dr. King in his ministerial robes,
holding a small child, which the artist said represents innocence
and is symbolic of Dr. King's concern with future generations.
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