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04 June 2004
$30 Million Already Raised For Memorial to Dr. King
Plans are to build memorial on the Washington Mall
Washington -- Supporters have already raised $30 million for a memorial on the Washington Mall honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the legendary U.S. civil rights leader, according to Harry Johnson, Sr., president and chief executive officer of the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation.
As of last month, donors include General Motors ($10 million), the Ad Council ($9 million), Tommy Hilfiger ($5 million), Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie May) ($1 million) and the J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation ($500,000). Many individuals have contributed in addition to other corporations and other organizations, he added. The goal is to raise $100 million. No U.S. government funds are allocated for the project.
"We're encountering great interest in our project particularly since the public service campaign began," said Leroy Lowery, the project's executive director, in an interview May 26. In addition to the support of the president and Congress, "many celebrities are helping the effort," Lowery said, "including Whoopi Goldberg, Lionel Ritchie, Morgan Freeman, Tommy Davidson and Martin Sheen. Lowery also said that the project recently launched a monthly newsletter -- available online -- that tracks developments related to the project.
The foundation also has announced that it is in the feasibility phase of a faith-based initiative -- an appeal for donations to members of various faith-based organizations around the country. Already, the United Methodist Church has contributed $23,000. Dr. King was a Baptist preacher as well as civil rights leader. During his struggle for equal rights for African-Americans -- and everyone throughout the world -- he led the Southern Christian Leadership Council (SCLC).
In October 2003, Congress passed a bill extending the time to initiate the construction of the memorial. Testifying on behalf of its extension, leading lawmakers from both major political parties praised the efforts of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. and the foundation in reaching out to groups and individuals across the nation with a public information and advertising campaign. The new mandate was signed by President Bush on November 11, 2003. The law extended deadline for breaking ground until November 12, 2006.
The initial law authorizing the memorial to honor Dr. King was passed by Congress in 1998. But funds to erect it must be raised privately. It will be built in Washington on a four-acre site in a direct line between the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials. Upon completion, the memorial will evoke the memory of the late civil rights leader through the symbolic use of water and other landscape elements. Electronic renditions of his speeches also will be available.
More than 900 contributions from 52 countries were submitted for the memorial's design, according to the foundation. The winning design was submitted by Washington-based architects Devrouax & Purnell and San Francisco-based ROMA Design in 2000. Members of Alpha Phi Alpha -- the fraternity to which Dr. King belonged -- developed the idea for a memorial to him more than 20 years ago. Many of them are working hard to make their dream a reality.
For more information about the project, visit www.buildthedream.org
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
