The Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial

Unfortunately, because of Hurricane Irene coming, the celebrations for the newly opened Martin Luther King, Jr.  Memorial in D.C. have been postponed until later this fall. I wanted to go down anyway and check it out. Now, it is a WALK from the Smithsonian Metro, and I was sweating like a pig trying to get there after work, but it was worth it.

The memorial was absolutely beautiful! Of course, I snapped some pictures, especially because so many won't be able to make it in this weekend as planned. See the memorial after the jump!

The basic layout includes two side entrances, by which you will pass a granite wall that has engraved quotes from Dr. King.

The main entrance is through a split stone, called the "Mountain of Despair," which represents the struggles of the Civil Rights Movement.

After passing through the Mountain, you reach the statue of Dr. King, which is not directly facing the entrance. You walk around and there he is! People say that he has a confrontational stance, but I say that's more of a determined one. Determined to establish equal rights in this country.

 These quotes are along the sides of Dr King.

 

 

It was awesome to see. Not just because of the architecture, but also because it's a new day. So many people of different races, genders, nationalities, gathered together to see it. Even though I was annoyed by some of the tourists taking pictures of every little thing walking up there, Just think, 48 years ago on this coming Sunday, people gathered to hear Dr King's now famous "I Have A Dream" speech during the March on Washington. They were fighting for the equal rights that we have today. Like I said when I was commenting on the movie The Help, we may not be where we want to be as a people, or in terms of equal rights for all minorities, but thank God we aren't where we used to be. To me, this memorial is not only in honor of Dr. King, but in honor of the fight that he and so many others committed themselves to. And for that, I am forever grateful.


It's really unfortunate that the dedication ceremony is postponed. It was going to be Sunday, which, as I said, was the 48th anniversary of the March on Washington. Not going to be the same at a later date, but it's great to see the memorial finally finished. It's been under construction for quite some time, and to see it finally finished was breathtaking! Definitely come to D.C. to check it out!