Artist Lei Yixin will sculpt the three-story monument of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Washington, D.C.

I used to live in the D.C. area and one thing the District is well known for (aside from Crabs, AIDS and Murder) is monuments. All of our deceased “heroes” are memorialized on the National Mall, in Arlington National Cemetery or in the dozens of commemorative traffic circles located around the metropolitan area. However one thing you’ll never see on those statues is a black face. We always joke about the fact that there is an MLK Blvd in every hood in America but is that all the man deserves?

Well on Tuesday, January 15, 2008, at 11:00 AM, a host of New York City pastors will gather at One Time
Warner Center in Manhattan to publicly say “NO!” The group will hold a press conference to announce their joint backing of the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation, fund to support the erection of a $100 million monument on National Mall in Washington D.C.

The MLK Memorial Foundation has already raised $82 million of the targeted $100 million needed to complete, and preserve the King monument. However, the pastors Reverends Dr. Calvin O. Butts,
III, Dr. Floyd Flake, Dr. James Forbes, and Dr. Johnny Ray Youngblood, will joined forces as a Host Committee to publicly announce their support of the “Build the Dream” mission. Each will pledge $10,000
toward the $500,000.00 goal to be accomplished by NYC ministers and churches.

The King Monument will be situated adjacent to the F.D.R. memorial and in direct line between the Lincoln and Jefferson monuments. A ceremonial groundbreaking for the MLK Memorial took place on
November 13, 2006, and is scheduled for completion in 2009. To learn more or find out how you can help visit the website: http://www.buildthedream.org