Not arrogant. (Photo: Something Original, Creative Commons)
Somehow, in all the events of Hurricane Irene and the crashing economy, I missed the quiet unveiling of the impressive and dignified Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial on the National Mall. It was probably a smaller event than originally envisioned, pre-earthquake, pre-hurricane. (We wrote about MLK a few days ago, in connection with the postponed opening).
So when I first saw the headline that poet (laureate) Maya Angelou was kvetching about King’s words on the statue, saying it made King sound “arrogant,” I thought, well, that she was just kvetching, the way everyone on the internet kvetches. I ignored the article.
Then I read it. She’s right.
Here’s what’s one of the inscriptions, placed on one side of the statue says:
“I was a drum major for justice peace and righteousness.”
Here’s what King said on Feb. 4, 1968, two months before he was assassinated, in a sermon at Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church about a eulogy that might be given in the event of his death:
“If you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice. Say that I was a drum major for peace. I was a drum major for righteousness. And all of the other shallow things will not matter.”
Context is all.
Get out the chisel, Washington.
Postscript #1 : Elaine Ray wrote in to say: “I like your bookhaven item on the King monument. Just wanted to clarify that the opening of the monument was not postponed. In fact, the monument had a quiet opening days before the scheduled dedication. It was the dedication that was postponed.” Also read her comment and link in the comments section below.
From Jim Erwin: “Maybe I’ll feel differently once I see it in person, but from the photos it looks like Stalinist monumentalism, which could hardly be more wildly inappropriate for the subject. I suspect Frederick Hart, who did the ‘Three Soldiers’ Vietnam memorial sculpture, could have come closer.”
Tags: Martin Luther King, Maya Angelou
September 4th, 2011 at 11:00 am
And speaking of context, please read my blog post on the historical events that led to the 1963 March on Washington. http://ebenezerray.com/2011/08/28/more-than-a-dream-the-march-on-washington-was-a-movement-decades-in-the-making/
September 7th, 2011 at 8:30 am
I heard an NPR interview with the architect in charge of the memorial, and I took his comments to mean the memorial was not intended to represent Dr. King as he was, but to inspire people today. Dr. King would not have wanted a monument to himself anyway, so the quote is less about what he said and more perhaps about what the architect wants to present today.