MLK's monument's Chinese designer: 'King's vision is still living, in our minds; ..., we still need him'"

DC CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

The likeness of Martin Luther King emerges out of the Stone of Hope

Like the Vietnam War Memorial designed by Maya Lin, the sculpture at the centerpiece of the memorial to civil rights leader Martin Luther King was sculpted by an Asian artist.

Today (Jan. 21) we remember the assassinated American hero who inspired a movement that changed the course of the United States tand benefited all Americans but chiefly ensured the rights of people of color and immigrants. His inspiration broke the boundaries of intolerance and even national borders, as he became a symbol, recognized worldwide of the quest for civil rights of the world's citizens.

The winning MLK monument design is by Master Lei Yixin, a citizen of China. His sculture, chosen from an international competition, was inspired by the line from King's "I Have a Dream" speech, "Out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope."

Visitors walk through two massive white granite halves of the "Mountain of Despair" to reach the "Stone of Hope," from which the sculpture of King emerges. 

"Dr. King's vision is still living, in our minds; we still miss him, we still need him," said Yixin through a translator, calling the sculpture the most important of his life, technically and emotionally. "I am trying to present Dr. King as ready to step out ... this is King's spirit, to judge people from their character, not race, color or background." 

Lei's selection in an international competition was not without controversy. The Chinese sculptor's monumental works in China caught the eye of Ed Jackson, the executive architect of the Martin Luther King Foundation, who named Lei the head sculptor for the "Stone of Hope" monument in 2007.

PINTEREST

Lei Yixin sculpts a large size model that expresses thoughtful hope.

African American sculptor Ed Dwight was quoted by the Washington Post at the time as arguing that because Lei is not black, "he doesn't know how black people walk, how they stand, how their shoulders slope." In May 2008, the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts called the artist's design "too confrontational," and recommended that the monument be rethought.

Lei has clearly sought to sensitively portray his subject. Lei said that "you can see the hope" in King's face, according to the Tribune Chronicle. "But his serious demeanor also indicated that he's thinking."

The 30-foot sculpture, which was done in China and shipped to the U.S., depicts the civil rights leader emerging from a block of white granite. Standing stiffly to attention with arms crossed and a serious expression on his face, King is depicted as stern and authoritative.

Lei intends the visitor to walk through the mountain of despair to the stone of hope. The memorial’s stone of hope appears to be quarried (hewed) from a larger stone, a slow a laborious process, much like the process to end racial segregation and discrimination in the U.S. The stone has been pushed forward, symbolizing the forward progress in the achievement of civil rights in America.

The unfinished likeness of King is intentional ; just as his life was tragically cut short at just 39 years of age, and just as the movement for civil rights he helped lead is unfinished today. King is looking south toward the horizon, paper, possibly a speech or sermon in hand, in a defiant pose, symbolizing his defiance of injustice.

The ROMA Design Group, the San Francisco architecture firm that designed the project before Lei was picked as sculptor. The monument's official address is 1964 Independence Avenue SW, in honor of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the landmark legislation in which King played an important role.

The dedication had been planned for Aug. 28, 2011, the 48th anniversary of King's "I Have a Dream" speech. But it was delayed by Hurricane Irene, which swept through Washington with high winds and rain. It was finally unveiled in October 16, 2011 by President Barack Obama, the country's first black President.

The MLK Memorial opens to the National Mall Tidal Basin.

The following quotations are engraved on the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial:

Statue

"Out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope."
From the "I Have A Dream" speech in Washington, D.C. on August 28, 1963. The quotation serves as the theme of the overall design of the memorial, which realizes the metaphorical mountain and stone.

South Wall

"We shall overcome because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice."
Washington National Cathedral, March 31, 1968.

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that."
Strength to Love, 1963.

"I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant."
Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, Oslo, Norway, 1964.

"Make a career of humanity. Commit yourself to the noble struggle for equal rights. You will make a better person of yourself, a greater nation of your country, and a finer world to live in."
March for Integrated Schools, April 18, 1959.

DIOKNO

Martin Luther King's words are an inspiration for all Americans.

"I oppose the war in Vietnam because I love America. I speak out against it not in anger but with anxiety and sorrow in my heart, and above all with a passionate desire to see our beloved country stand as a moral example of the world."
Anti-War Conference, Los Angeles, California, February 26, 1967.

"If we are to have peace on earth, our loyalties must become ecumenical rather than sectional. Our loyalties must transcend our race, our tribe, our class, and our nation; and this means we must develop a world perspective."
Christmas sermon, Atlanta, Georgia, 1967.

North Wall

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly."
Letter from Birmingham, Alabama jail, April 16, 1963.

"I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality, and freedom for their spirits."
Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, Oslo, Norway, 1964

"It is not enough to say 'We must not wage war.' It is necessary to love peace and sacrifice for it. We must concentrate not merely on the negative expulsion of war, but the positive affirmation of peace."
Anti-War Conference, Los Angeles, California, February 25, 1967.

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of convenience and comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."
Strength to Love, 1963.

"Every nation must now develop an overriding loyalty to mankind as a whole in order to preserve the best in their individual societies."
New York City, April 4, 1967.

"We are determined here in Montgomery to work and fight until justice runs 'down like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream.'"
Montgomery, Alabama, December 5, 1955. Here, King borrows a verse from the Bible, the Book of Amos, which he frequently reused in speeches.

"We must come to see that the end we seek is a society at peace with itself, a society that can live with its conscience."
Montgomery, Alabama, March 25, 1965.

"True peace is not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice."
Stride Toward Freedom, 1958

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