San Marcos celebrates two historic icons

SAN MARCOS, Texas (KXAN) - President Lyndon Johnson and Martin Luther King worked together during the civil rights movement, and now the city of San Marcos will dedicate a monument to honor them both.

San Marcos residents say they're proud to be the only city in the country where two streets named after both the nation's 36th president and the one of the 20th century's most influential civil rights leader cross paths. 

So they say it was only fitting to place a monument commemorating the two icons at that very spot. 

"Actually this really is a crossroads for the city, said Diane McCabe, who worked on the MLK/LBJ crossroads project committee. "The river is just down there. MLK is the historically African American district, and LBJ Drive is the historically Latino community. Then downtown is right here too," said McCabe. 

Monday, the city held a ground breaking ceremony for the LBJ-MLK Crossroads Memorial.

After working for years to bring the project to life the city chose Aaron Hussey of Louisiana to design the monument that will be 12 feet tall. 

Hussey was selected from over 50 other entries, all vying to be a part of San Marcos history.

"If it weren't for the two of them coming together, then civil rights probably wouldn't have happened," said Hussey. 

The former president and the civil rights leader worked to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as well as the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Hussey said he drew inspiration for the monument from a historic picture of the two icons. 

"The shape of the oval harkens to the oval office where LBJ and MLK sat drinking tea and discussing these issues," said Hussey. 

The city of San Marcos hopes to have the monument installed by LBJ's birthday in August. Johnson died 40 years ago Tuesday.