The new Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington D.C.
I believe a large part of the American population have been waiting for this. In conjunction with the 48th anniversary of his I Have a Dream speech, the Martin Luther King Jr. memorial will be dedicated this Sunday, August 28. However, it was unveiled today to the public at large.
Located on 1964 Independence Ave., –1964 chosen as a direct reference to the 1964 Civil Rights Act– it lies between the Jefferson and and Lincoln memorials and makes MLK the first non-president to be honored around the Tidal Basin.
Since it was an unusually fall-ish day (and the fact I’m trying to soak up any ounce of freedom I have before school starts) I decided I should take a stroll into the District to see it. Was I thinking how crazy parking would be? no. But my parking luck seemed to be on because after a few D.C. wrong turns, we found “close” parking and began the trek to the new monument.
A lot of the normal pathways were closed off for the Sunday ceremony and police were teaming the streets. There was a buzz of nervous energy from the thousands of people flocking to the site, but as you entered the memorial you were struck with an air of reverence. The centerpiece for the memorial is based on a line from King’s “I have a dream” speech: “Out of a mountain of despair, a stone of hope.” The artist Lei Yixin sculpted a 30-foot high statue of King named the “Stone of Hope”, which stands past two other pieces of granite that symbolize the “mountain of despair.”Visitors will literally pass through the Mountain of Despair to the Stone of Hope.
I loved wandering around and seeing the emotion brought out in people as the soaked in the setting and read the various quotes chiseled in the walls. In particular I love that the African American community has a memorial that they clearly embrace. I took the above photo of a man talking to his little daughter and (as voyeur) smiled at what a special moment that must be for him. As I looked around at the diversity of people chatting, crying and taking photos, I felt like we, as humanity, are getting closer and closer to making MLK’s dream a reality for all people around the world.
Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.
And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
Melinda Skea got a taste for adventure as her family moved from America’s West to its hospitable south and eventually settled in its fast-paced New England corner. She studied International Relations and Spanish at Brigham Young University and subsequently embarked on a round-the-world trip which included Asia, Oceania and Europe. She has since found a home base in Washington D.C. where she works as an editor for a non-profit publication, but still finds time to put a few stamps in her passport each year.
Melinda is also the founder of D.C.-based Fashion Freecycle, which strives to limit the growing problem of clothing pollution by making “One [wo]man’s trash another [wo]man’s treasure”. These quarterly events encourage women to donate items and swap them for ones they find useful. Also an avid film lover, in 2008 Melinda began a monthly Foreign Film Night, which strives to create an atmosphere of openness, respect and learning as participants dine on the country-of-choice local cuisine and enjoy cinema outside of the usual Blockbuster.
