DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.’S FULL BODY OF WORK SHOULD BE RECOGNIZED IN MEMORIAL QUOTE

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. memorial, Washington, D.C.

By Greg Thrasher, VOD Washington DC Bureau contributing editorplaneidea@msn.com

January 15, 2012

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has ordered a correction to a badly mangled quotation from Martin Luther King Jr. inscribed in granite on the Tidal Basin memorial to the slain civil rights leader.

Salazar has told the National Park Service to consult with the memorial foundation and the King family and to report back to him within 30 days with a plan to fix the carved excerpt. Yet for many this is not enough. Instead of just some minor clerical repairs to the quotation additional quotes and words that reflect the total work of MLK, which included a focus on racial injustice must be a part of the National Park Service’s repairs to the monument. 

The future of Black youth is still gravely imperiled by racism, poverty, destruction of public education, police brutality and mass incarceration

What many people don’t know is that presently none of the quotes on the King memorial mention race nor any words about King’s body of work in America’s civil rights movement. King’s work which encompassed major protests against racial injustice and inequality are not reflected nor present as quotes on the King Monument. To officially ignore the core work of Dr. King is not only a national disgrace but almost Orwellian in construction and design. This omission of Dr. King’s civil rights legacy is an affront to the holiday and the King Memorial.

It is shocking to discover that this was deliberate and intentional to not insert any verbiage or words, quotes which recognize the real life work and mission of MLK. This deliberate omission of acknowledgment of King’s body of work in the arena of racial justice reflects a contempt in part for Black Americans . The mission of MLK encompassed more than a kum ba ya cultural drive feeling.  MLK’s work was all about racial injustice as well as concerns about the poor and ending the war in Vietnam.

Instead of minor clerical repairs to the King Memorial is it is incumbent that the King Memorial reflect authentic truth and the reality of King’s life and body of work. We must demand a complete portrait of MLK on his memorial not a pc driven almost censored view of the truth about the mission of MLK. 

From Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.:

 “Why I Am Opposed to the War in Vietnam”

“When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, militarism and economic exploitation are incapable of being conquered.”

Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Speech:

“I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality.”


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