Due to
inclement weather, at an undetermined future date, a monument to perhaps the
most well-respected African American ever, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,
is being dedicated on the National Mall.
It will
be a day to be remembered and cherished not just for Black people, but for
America, because it honors King’s sacrifice in striving to fulfill the words of
the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence – documents that
originally excluded all but white male landowners.
That’s
why it is so shocking that there were so few rich Black people on the list of
major donors ($100,000 or more) to see this 15-year project to fruition.
Yes,
millions of Black people are still suffering from a form of economic apartheid
that lingers despite gigantic steps this country has made toward racial
equality.
However,
there are more Black millionaires now than any time in American history and the
question must be asked, “Where were they” when Harry Johnson, the CEO of the
Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation, dispatched his
staff and volunteers in a massive fundraising effort?
There is
still a little less then $6 million yet to be paid for this extraordinary
monument and the grounds on which it sits, so, “Where are they now?”
Corporate
donors were generous; General Motors led the way with $10 million, Tommy
Hilfiger ($6 million), Alpha Phi Alpha, MLK’s fraternity ($3.5 million), the
NBA ($3 million), Disney ($2.7 million), Verizon ($2 million), General Electric
($1.2 million), FedEx ($1 million), the NFL Players Association, and
Viacom/BET/MTV ($1 million) accounted some of the top contributors.
The NFL,
perhaps awakened by news reports of missing entities from the major donor list,
recently announced it is donating $1 million.
Among top
individual donors were the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation ($3 million),
Black Entertainment Television co-founder Sheila Johnson ($1 million),
filmmaker George Lucas ($1 million) and rock guitarist Carlos Santana and his
ex-wife Deborah ($100,000).
Morehouse
University, King’s alma mater, kicked in $500,000.
According
to the 2009 Forbes Magazine list, the wealthiest Black Americans are Oprah
Winfrey ($2.7 billion and counting); BET co-founder Robert Johnson, who got $3
billion from Viacom when he sold his network in 2000; golfer Tiger Woods;
ex-NBA stars Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan; real estate magnates Don Peebles
and Chicago’s Quintin Primo III; Junior Bridgeman, who parlayed money from an
NBA career into the ownership of over nearly 300 Wendy's and Chili’s
restaurants; and American Express CEO Ken Chenault.
When the
memorial broke ground in 2006 among the list of superstars on hand were
Winfrey, Angela Bassett, Whoopi Goldberg, Samuel L. Jackson, Al Roker and
Laurence Fishbourne.
Despite
their heavy presence in the marketing and fundraising efforts, none of them
cracked the $100,000 or more list.
(Reprinted
from the Philadelphia Tribune.)
