WASHINGTON (AP) — Thousands of people
spanning all ages and races honored the legacy of the nation's foremost civil
rights leader during Sunday's formal dedication of the new Martin Luther King
Jr. Memorial in Washington.
Aretha Franklin, poet Nikki Giovanni
and President Barack Obama were among those who attended the more than four-hour
ceremony. King's children and other leaders spoke before the president,
invoking his "I Have a Dream" speech and calling upon a new
generation to help fully realize that dream.
The crowd, some of whom came out as
early as 5 a.m., included people of all ages and races. Some women wore large
Sunday hats for the occasion.
The president arrived late morning
with his wife and two daughters, which drew loud cheers from those watching his
entrance on large screens.
Cherry Hawkins traveled from Houston
with her cousins and arrived at 6 a.m. to be part of the dedication. They
postponed earlier plans to attend the August dedication, which was postponed
because of Hurricane Irene.
"I wanted to do this for my kids
and grandkids," Hawkins said. She expects the memorial will be in their
history books someday. "They can say, 'Oh, my granny did that.'"
Hawkins, her cousin DeAndrea Cooper
and Cooper's daughter Brittani Jones, 23, visited the King Memorial on Saturday
after joining a march with the Rev. Al Sharpton to urge Congress to pass a jobs
bill.
"You see his face in the
memorial, and it's kind of an emotional moment," Cooper said. "It's
beautiful. They did a wonderful job."
A stage for speakers and thousands of
folding chairs were set up on a field near the memorial along with large TV
screens. Most of the 10,000 chairs set out appeared to be full. Many other
people were standing.
The August ceremony had been expected
to draw 250,000, though organizers anticipated about 50,000 for Sunday's event.
Actress Cicely Tyson said her
contemporaries are passing the torch to a new generation and passed the
microphone to 12-year-old Amandla Stenberg. The girl recalled learning about
the civil rights movement in school and named four young girls killed in a 1963
church bombing in Birmingham, Ala.
"As Dr. King said at their
funeral, 'They didn't live long lives, but they lived meaningful lives,'"
Amandla said. "I plan to live a meaningful life, too."
About 1.5 million people are
estimated to have visited the 30-foot-tall statue of King and the granite walls
where 14 of his quotations are carved in stone. The memorial is the first on
the National Mall honoring a black leader.
The sculpture of King with his arms
crossed appears to emerge from a stone extracted from a mountain. It was carved
by Chinese artist Lei Yixin. The design was inspired by a line from the famous
"I Have a Dream" speech in 1963: "Out of the mountain of
despair, a stone of hope."
King's "Dream" speech
during the March on Washington galvanized the civil rights movement.
King's older sister, Christine King
Farris, said she witnessed a baby become "a great hero to humanity."
She said the memorial will ensure her brother's legacy will provide a source of
inspiration worldwide for generations.
To young people in the crowd, she
said King's message is that "Great dreams can come true and America is the
place where you can make it happen."
King's daughter, the Rev. Bernice
King, said her family is proud to witness the memorial's dedication. She said
it was a long time coming and had been a priority for her mother, Coretta Scott
King, who died in 2006.
Bernice King and her brother Martin
Luther King III said their father's dream is not yet realized. Martin Luther
King III said the nation has "lost its soul" when it tolerates vast
economic disparities, teen bullying, and having more people of color in prison
than in college.
He said the memorial should serve as
a catalyst to renew his father's fight for social and economic justice.
"The problem is the American dream
of 50 years ago ... has turned into a nightmare for millions of people"
who have lost their jobs and homes, King said.
The choir from King's historic
Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta was scheduled to sing.
The nation's first black president,
who was just 6 years old when King was assassinated in April 1968 in Memphis,
Tenn., will speak about the man he has said "gave his life serving
others."
Giovanni read her poem "In the
Spirit of Martin," and Franklin was to sing.
Early in the ceremony, during a
rendition of "Lift Every Voice and Sing," the crowd cheered when
images on screen showed Obama on the night he won the 2008 presidential
election.
Obama, who credits King with paving
his way to the White House, left a copy of his inaugural speech in a time
capsule at the monument site. He said King was a man who "stirred our
conscience" and made the Union "more perfect."
But the Rev. Al Sharpton said the
dedication was not about Obama but the ongoing fight for justice. He called for
people from around the world to walk through the stone of hope and emerge to
see "the face that brought us from the back of the bus to the White
House."
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.
(AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
