First National Monument dedicated in honor of an African American leader
By Lynda L. Jones
On Sunday, Oct. 16, 2011 millions via media and thousands in person witnessed the historical dedication of the first national monument created in honor of an African American leader. Not only is Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. the first African American to receive this honor, he is also the first non-official to receive it.
This honor made history on so many levels, it is hard to keep track of all of them. The nation’s first African American president having the duty and privilege to make this dedication was extraordinary to see.
Millions of Americans and even viewers from across the globe were glued to their computers and televisions, and thousands even had the good fortune to be at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. to witness the event in person.
President Barack Obama, first lady Michelle Obama, the Obama daughters Sasha and Malia, and their grandmother Marian Robinson walked into the mall and viewed the quotes on the wall from Dr. King as they arrived and they were joined by Dr. King’s children, the eldest and namesake Martin Luther King, III, his wife, Andrea and daughter, Yolanda (Dr. King’s first grandchild) and Rev. Dr. Bernice King, Dr. King’s youngest child. The president and CEO of the MLK National Project Foundation Harry Johnson served as their guide.
It was an opportunity for families to re-visit history as the famous ‘I Have A Dream’ speech played with Dr. King speaking near the spot where the dedication took place. Many of Dr. King’s surviving colleagues spoke including Andrew Young, John Lewis, Christine King-Farris (his sister) and Jesse Jackson, Sr.
The highlight for many was when President Obama spoke, and reminded those listening that what Dr. King fought for was a long journey, and he faced many obstacles along the way.
“It is right for us to celebrate Dr. King’s marvelous oratory, but it is worth remembering that progress did not come from words alone. Progress was hard. Progress was purchased through enduring the smack of billy clubs and the blast of fire hoses. It was bought with days in jail cells and nights of bomb threats. For every victory during the height of the civil rights movement, there were setbacks and there were defeats. We forget now, but during his life, Dr. King wasn’t always considered a unifying figure. Even after rising to prominence, even after winning the Nobel Peace Prize, Dr. King was vilified by many, denounced as a rabble rouser and an agitator, a communist and a radical. He was even attacked by his own people, by those who felt he was going too fast or those who felt he was going too slow; by those who felt he shouldn’t meddle in issues like the Vietnam War or the rights of union workers.
We know from his own testimony the doubts and the pain this caused him, and that the controversy that would swirl around his actions would last until the fateful day he died.” President Obama said.
He continued with the following, and later many could see where Dr. King’s fight and President Obama’s fight and struggles compare. “I raise all this because nearly 50 years after the March on Washington, our work, Dr. King’s work, is not yet complete. We gather here at a moment of great challenge and great change. In the first decade of this new century, we have been tested by war and by tragedy; by an economic crisis and its aftermath that has left millions out of work, and poverty on the rise, and millions more just struggling to get by. Indeed, even before this crisis struck, we had endured a decade of rising inequality and stagnant wages. In too many troubled neighborhoods across the country, the conditions of our poorest citizens appear little changed from what existed 50 years ago -– neighborhoods with underfunded schools and broken-down slums, inadequate health care, constant violence, neighborhoods in which too many young people grow up with little hope and few prospects for the future. Our work is not done. And so on this day, in which we celebrate a man and a movement that did so much for this country, let us draw strength from those earlier struggles. First and foremost, let us remember that change has never been quick. Change has never been simple, or without controversy. Change depends on persistence. Change requires determination. It took a full decade before the moral guidance of Brown v. Board of Education was translated into the enforcement measures of the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act, but those 10 long years did not lead Dr. King to give up. He kept on pushing, he kept on speaking, he kept on marching until change finally came.”
The president further brought Dr. King’s message to present day protest when he said, “If he were alive today, I believe he would remind us that the unemployed worker can rightly challenge the excesses of Wall Street without demonizing all who work there; that the businessman can enter tough negotiations with his company’s union without vilifying the right to collectively bargain. He would want us to know we can argue fiercely about the proper size and role of government without questioning each others’ love for this country with the knowledge that in this democracy, government is no distant object but is rather an expression of our common commitments to one another. He would call on us to assume the best in each other rather than the worst, and challenge one another in ways that ultimately heal rather than wound.”
Despite the delay due to earthquake aftermaths and a hurricane, the dedication of the monument finally took place on a beautiful sun filled day in Washington, D.C., giving all Americans the opportunity to witness some of the best moments that this country is capable of.