The Martin Luther King Jr. Dedication By: Hope Wilkos, Writer/Blogger Photos: George Whylie, Pure Fame Media Inc / FR TV and AP Photo
There is nothing that could stop this magnificent day from becoming a reality and living out the dream that a prominent civil rights leader began years ago but whose life was needlessly and drastically cut short.
On Sunday, October 16th, 2011, President Obama along with some of the family of Martin Luther King, Jr. as well as with thousands of anxious and exhilarated attendees some of who came out at 5:00 A.M., unveiled and dedicated the new Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in an emotional ceremony on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. A rendition of the African-American anthem, ‘Lift Every Voice and Sing’ was played as a large screen in the background flashed Obama the night he won the 2008 Presidential election.
The legacy of this activist was honored by such highly bestowed individuals as the talented Aretha Franklin, poet Nikki Giovanni, the great Stevie Wonder, the passionate actress Cicely Tyson and the ardent Rev. Al Sharpton.
The towering statue stands 30 feet high as a proclamation that change is not simple or quick and persistence and determination pay off but are not without controversy.
The President and First Lady were joined by Vice President Biden and his wife along with the civil rights figures. This memorial is a first to a black man on the National Mall and its parks. Obama was only 6 years old when King was assassinated in 1968. The President gave credit to King for paving his way to the White House and making his dream possible. The President left signed copies of his inaugural speech and 2008 convention address in a time capsule at the monument site.
This monument has been 15 years in the making.
Obama found much significance in the teachings of King as an iconic leader. America can live up to its ideals. Believe that and go forward. See your adversaries as King did and assume the best in each other. Social change is ongoing. Obama urged Americans to harness the energy of the civil rights movement for today’s challenges and remain committed to peaceful resistance just as King had.
The famous ‘I Have a Dream’ speech which stood for all Martin Luther King Jr. believed in propelled his spirit into the lives of the American public, created the passing of the landmark Civil Rights Act in 1964 and at the age of 35, King was the youngest man to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. His assassination in 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee at a Sanitation Workers Strike fueled the passion of others who shared his dreams and beliefs and carried them feverishly into the present.
Martin Luther King Jr.’s daughter, son and sister all spoke with a fervor, conviction and deep remembrance for a great man.
We are still fighting social and economic unrest and upheaval but…………
Don’t give up! “Out of the Mountain of Despair, A Store of Hope”…….
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