GENERAL NEWS

 A befitting statue for Martin Luther King Jr

By Nafisah Mohammed

Civil rights hero, Dr. Martin Luther King jr. has been long dead but still evokes powerful memories. Yesterday, thousands of Americans, young and old, black and white, gathered in Washington, D.C. for the official declaration and unveiling of a national monument dedicated in his honour.


The event featured President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Aretha Franklin and a host of other notable names from the civil rightsmovement.Originally scheduled for August when officials expected 250,000 people to attend, the event had to be postponed due to the earthquake that hit the Northeastern part of the country,  followed by the heavy winds of Hurricane Irene.

The towering 10-metre statue cost $120 million (N19 billion). It was designed by Chinese master sculptor Lei Yixin. Carved from 159 pieces of pink Chinese granite, the statue is a reminder of the remarkable life of King who fought for the rights of African-Americans. It is viewed as a symbol of his global legacy.

‘’Martin Luther King is not only a hero to Americans, he also is a hero of the world," said Yixin.  Some cite Yixin's talent and his ability to bring a fresh perspective to a face so familiar to Americans.

The project was not without criticisims, thought Some say that as a state-sponsored artist who has created several images for the hardline Chinese government, selecting Yixin represents a corruption of King’s essential message of freedom.

Groups of activists had protested the choice and the fact that American companies were not allowed to bid for the construction, since it was ommissioned in 2006.

Taken from a photograph of King in his Atlanta office, the monument’s visage has also been described as too ‘’grim and totalitarian’’. US artists favoured a warmer and more intellectual look. The California Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP) passed a resolution complaining that the foundation ‘’has chosen to outsource the production of the monument to Dr. King to the People’s Republic of China.....which is an affront to the ideal of human dignity.’’

The Black Washington Post columnist Courtland Milloy wrote in an editorial: ‘’surely, having a black sculptor of a black civil rights icon, working on ground once toiled by black slaves, on the National Mall, designed and surveyed with the help of a black mathematician and astronomer would have added to the King memorial’s symbolic power.’’

Nevertheless, these controversies were far from the minds of visitors yesterday as they listened to speeches from King’s family and contemporaries as well as music from Stevie Wonder and Franklin.

Situated on the National Mall not far from the Lincoln Memorial where he made his famous ‘’I Have A Dream’’speech in 1963, the monument features a landscape that the developers say encompasses the four recurring themes of King’s life –democracy, justice, hope and love with the center piece of the memorial being the ‘’Stone of Hope’’.

 Each side of the Stone is inscribed with words from King such as: ‘’Out of the Mountain of Despair", "Stone of Hope’’, ‘’I Was a Drum Major for Justice and "Peace and Righteousness.’’

King’s eldest son, Martin Luther King III, was 10 years old when his father was killed. He called him an ‘’American patriot’’, adding that "his was more than a black struggle, it was a human rights struggle.’’

He was followed by Rev. Jesse Jackson who declared that King would be sad today because ‘’there was too much concentrated wealth, too much poverty due to government neglect, drug problems and expensive wars.’’He said that although the late civil rights hero would have been happy at the election of Obama, he would be upset by ‘’the venom, the unprecedented retaliation to the President. He would be saddened by those who wanted to sink the ship just to destroy the captain.’’

During his speech, Obama called for patience. "Change depends on persistence. When met with hardship, when confronting disappointment, Dr King refused to accept what he called the ‘isness’of today. He kept pushing towards the outness of tomorrow," said the President.

Obama who is facing troubled times on several fronts –the economy, jobs, political opposition from Republicans and within his own party, was welcomed by chants of ‘’four more years’’from the predominantly African-American crowd.

 ‘’I know there are better days ahead; I know this because of the man towering above me’’, he said. His words about King seemed to echo his own experiences. "For every victory, there were setbacks; even after winning the Nobel Peace Prize, Dr King was vilified by many. He was even attacked by his own people, by those who felt he was going too fast and by those who felt he was going too slow," said Obama.

The President's speech basically wrapped up the day as many spoke of their joy that an African-American hero has been immortalised in the nation’s capital amongst presidents and generals. Some expressed the opinion that they hoped King’s legacy would resonate with generations to come.

Revered Al Sharpton, the flamboyant civil rights activist, received a huge cheer from the predominantly African American crowd