Along the Tidal Basin, Yoshino cherry blossom trees have thrived since 1912 – a gift from Japan as a sign of peace and unity. For only two weeks each spring, their tiny blossoms surround the Basin in a cloud of delicate pink and white. Spring resonates with the spirit of hope, rebirth and renewal; the King Memorial has added 182 cherry blossoms to the Tidal Basin’s collection. Poetically, each year the peak blooming period for the trees coincides with the anniversary of Dr. King’s assassination, April 4th.posted by John Cohen at 12:47 PM on August 22, 2011 [1 favorite]
King faces Jefferson wearing clothes that fade into the granite above his feet. His arms are folded, with one hand holding his rolled-up Dream speech, according to sculptor Master Lei Yixin, who is a Chinese citizen.Geez, we're even outsourcing our capital monuments to the Chinese!
I don't think it's so much the race and nationality of Lei so much as the fact that his primary experience is sculpting old-school Communist bloc type statues. When the primary comparison is to Niyazov or Mao or Lenin, that's not exactly great for a MLK memorial.Hey now, he was a socialist.
So what happened? Was it not reworked? Are there images of the original design?this pic shows two different "faces" for the statue. The second looks more like MLK and less 'angry' and more serene. Maybe that's the 'before and after'
The quotes selected are those which are most representative Dr. King’s universal and timeless messages of Justice, Democracy, Hope and Love.From a less-well-known section of his most famous speech:
In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the "unalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds."Or from "I've Been to the Mountaintop"
I would turn to the Almighty, and say, "If you allow me to live just a few years in the second half of the 20th century, I will be happy." Now that's a strange statement to make, because the world is all messed up. The nation is sick. Trouble is in the land; confusion all around. That's a strange statement. But I know, somehow, that only when it is dark enough can you see the stars. And I see God working in this period of the twentieth century in a way that men, in some strange way, are responding. Something is happening in our world. The masses of people are rising up.He's not talking about Democracy, he's talking about democatic accountability. He's not talking about Hope, he's talking about faith in God and faith in his fellow man.
That's the question before you tonight. Not, "If I stop to help the sanitation workers, what will happen to my job. Not, "If I stop to help the sanitation workers what will happen to all of the hours that I usually spend in my office every day and every week as a pastor?" The question is not, "If I stop to help this man in need, what will happen to me?" The question is, "If I do not stop to help the sanitation workers, what will happen to them?" That's the question.posted by muddgirl at 1:46 PM on August 22, 2011 [3 favorites]
"Increasingly, by choice or by accident, this is the role our nation has taken, the role of those who make peaceful revolution impossible by refusing to give up the privileges and the pleasures that come from the immense profits of overseas investments. I am convinced that if we are to get on the right side of the world revolution, we as a nation must undergo a radical revolution of values. We must rapidly begin...we must rapidly begin the shift from a thing-oriented society to a person-oriented society. When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights, are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, extreme materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered."posted by empath at 2:10 PM on August 22, 2011 [15 favorites]
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posted by Cyclopsis Raptor at 11:51 AM on August 22, 2011 [1 favorite]