MLK Jr Memorial In DC Opens To Public Today

The dedication ceremony for it won't happen until this weekend, but the MLK Jr. National Memorial opened today for public viewing.

There will be events occurring in Washington all week celebrating Dr. King's legacy, his leadership of the Civil Rights Movement and the first memorial ever dedicated to a person of color and a non-president.  

Those events will build up to the August 28 dedication ceremony in which President Obama, 'the Revs' (Rev. Al Sharpton and Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sr),  Dr. King's family members and key people in the Civil Rights Movement will attend and say a few remarks. 

August 28 is also the anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington and the 'I Have A Dream' speech at the nearby Lincoln Memorial.   The new MLK Jr Memorial is on the Tidal Basin next door to the FDR one.   It's blended in with the cherry blossom trees and is placed in a direct line of sight between the Lincoln Memorial and the Jefferson Memorial on the opposite side of the Tidal Basin.

Looking forward to seeing it on my next visit to Washington DC.

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. 

Dr MLK, Jr King Assassination Anniversary

Today is the 43rd anniversary of the April 4, 1968 assassination of the Rev Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Memphis, TN. 

I wanted to make sure I wrote a post about the anniversary this year because I'm still a little upset at myself that I didn't do one last year.   But then again I had a lot on my mind  at the time and the winds of change were blowing through my life once again.. 

But back to talking about this day.   Tavis Smiley calls him one of the greatest Americans our people have ever produced.    Well, I can think of a few others in that class such as Frederick Douglass, Dr. Dorothy Height and Justice Thurgood Marshall, but I agree he's probably at the top of that short list.

I've had more than a few things to say on this anniversary, and I'll let you read my commentary on this day in prior years.    

Reflections About A King

April 4 Blues

Dr. King Assassination 41 Years Later


43 years later in this country, while on one hand race relations have improved on some levels, I also believe they have regressed as well thanks to conservative governments more concerned with sowing division in order to promote their political agenda.    They shortsightedly fail to realize that an America that works for everyone is a stronger, better country for all concerned.

Rest in peace Dr. King.  You were taken away from us before 'The Dream' became a reality, but there are people working to ensure that it does come true.

Dr. King Assassination-41 Years Later

Today is the 41st anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Memphis.

I tend to get a little introspective on this day on multiple levels. First because of the historical significance of the event. I think about the man being taken away from us at age 39 and wonder how differently would life in the United States have been if his strong voice reminding us about our moral and ethical responsibilities to each other weren't stilled on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel.

I think about what he achieved in his 39 year lifespan and remember to make every day count. I'm also reminded of the fact it's exactly one month before my birthday, and I tend to for the next four weeks take a hard look at where I am in my own life, if I've reached any goals I'd set for myself to achieve in the past year and try not to get depressed if I haven't done so yet.

But back to the drum major for justice.

If Dr. King were around I think he'd be pleased on some levels as to what we've achieved in American society, but on others he'd tell us we have much work to do. I believe that Dr. King would also be critical of megachurches and their 'prosperity gospel', and their reluctance to fulfilling the traditional role of the Black church in standing up for the powerless and speaking truth to power.



This day is also a solemn reminder that fighting for justice and equality for all is not an easy endeavor. Some people like him paid with their lives so that the rest of us, as he said in his 'I've Been To The Mountaintop' sermon, could get one day closer to the Promised Land of achieving 'The Dream'.