MLK Jr National Memorial To Be Dedicated August 28

We're a month away from American history being made on August 28 when the dedication ceremony  occurs at 11 AM EDT for the new Martin Luther King, Jr National Memorial in Washington D.C.

He will be the first African-American man honored with a memorial in the National Mall area and the third non-resident to be commemorated that way.   

The road to making the construction of the King Memorial a reality got its start in 1996.  A joint Congressional resolution was passed authorizing Dr. King's fraternity, Alpha Phi Alpha, to establish the memorial honoring the drum major for justice.   He pledged while he was a Boston University doctoral student in the 50's and was active in Alpha Phi Alpha.   He gave the keynote speech during the organization's 50th anniversary banquet in 1956.   . 

When he was assassinated in 1968 Alpha Phi Alpha proposed building a permanent memorial to him in Washington D.C.  Those efforts gained momentum after his January 15 birthday became a federal holiday in 1986 and the joint resolution to build it passed Congress a decade later.  

The resolution gave Alpha Phi Alpha authorization to establish the memorial, give permission to build it on the National Mall and gave the fraternity until November 2003 to raise the $100 million and break ground on its construction.   A foundation was established to manage the memorial's fundraising and design.   In December 1999 the United States Commission of Fine Arts and the National Capital Planning Commission approved the site location for the memorial as designs for the memorial poured in from 900 candidates in 52 countries.  

On December 4, 2000 a marble and bronze plaque was laid to dedicate the memorial site by Alpha Phi Alpha as the fundraising and promotion campaign commenced with the ceremonial groundbreaking for the project being held in West Potomac Park on November 13, 2006.  

After the final approvals from the necessary federal agencies came in October 2009, construction finally commenced on the long awaited King Memorial in November 2009. 

The address of the new memorial will be 1964 Independence Ave, SW, Washington, DC 20024.  The number is a homage and reference to the milestone Civil Rights Act of 1964 that Dr. King played an integral role in helping to get passed.

The location is on the northwest corner of the Tidal Basin in a line of sight between the Jefferson Memorial to the southeast and the Lincoln Memorial on the northwest where he gave the August 28, 1963  'I Have A Dream' speech.   It is next door to the FDR Memorial and intertwined with the famous cherry blossom trees that ring the Tidal Basin.      

The dedication ceremony will be part of a week of events from August 24-28, and I submit there will probably be a large crowd in attendance for the dedication ceremony as we honor Dr. King with a permanent memorial   


Looking forward to seeing it the next time I make it to our nation's capitol to lobby or for once if I get to got to Washington D.C to just play tourist.