WP: (D.C. Mall) Memorial to Martin Luther King Drives On

[DeepModem Mom]

Memorial To King Drives On
Mall Project Raises A Third of Funds

By Theola S. Labbe
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, January 16, 2005; Page C01


The foundation working to build a memorial to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. on the Mall has raised a third of the $100 million in private donations needed and plans to begin construction in 2006.

The memorial would be the first tribute to an African American or any individual of color on the federal space reserved to honor the most important American historical figures. The Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation Inc. has received $32.5 million from corporate and other private sponsors. It must raise an additional $68 million by next year to cover construction costs, foundation officials said.

Congress approved the memorial in 1996 and gave the foundation an extension in 2003 to raise funds for the groundbreaking, said Harry E. Johnson Sr., the group's president. He said he is confident that the group will draw additional corporate sponsors this year and spread awareness among citizens to raise the funds by the deadline....

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The memorial would sit on a four-acre triangular site in West Potomac Park, on the northwestern corner of the Tidal Basin, near the Jefferson Memorial and north of the memorial to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The design is centered on a 28-foot-tall structure, "Stone of Hope," that will feature an inscription and a likeness of King on its facade. Visitors entering the memorial would pass through a narrow entryway of two tall stones that symbolize "mountains of despair."...


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12511-2005Jan15.html