Breaking Ground On A Dream

The ground breaking ceremony for the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial took place today on the National Mall in Washington D.C. today. The new memorial will be built on the remaining free land on the Mall; in between the Thomas Jefferson memorial and the Lincoln memorial. It is going to be dedicated to King's infamous "I have a dream" speech.

The event drew approximately 5,000 people out into Washington's cool, cloudy weather. The ceremony was also attended by President George W. Bush, President Bill Clinton, Oprah Winfrey, Jesse Jackson, and many more. In 1996 President Clinton signed a law that would protect the land, reserving it for the memorial. "The monument, however beautiful it turns out to be, will be but a physical manifestation of the monument constructed in the minds and hearts of millions of Americans, who are more just, more decent, more successful, more perfect because he lived," reflected Clinton.

President Bush found it fitting that the MLK memorial will be located between Jefferson and Lincoln, "By its presence in this place, it will unite the men who declared the promise of America and defended the promise of America with the man who redeemed the promise of America." King is the first civilian and first African American to have a memorial on the Mall.

According to the Associated Press, $65 million has already been raised for the estimated $100 million project. The memorial is set to be finished in 2008; forty years after King's assassination.


My Opinion: 40 years too late. I'm glad to finally see a memorial for the face of the civil rights movement of the 1960's. The people that worked with him are now one step closer to seeing their dream of a MLK memorial come true. Visit http://www.mlkmemorial.org for more info.