Chinese sculptor's King statue unveiled
Source: Agencies |
August 23, 2011, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
PEOPLE in the US yesterday had their first look at a Chinese sculptor's memorial to civil rights leader Rev Martin Luther King Jr.
The site of the monument in Washington was opened without fanfare to begin a week of celebrations ahead of Sunday's official dedication.
Lei Yixin's memorial is on the National Mall between memorials honoring presidents Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson. It includes a nine-meter sculpture of King and a 137-meter-long granite wall inscribed with 14 quotations from his speeches.
The size of the sculpture of King sets it apart from statues of Jefferson and Lincoln, which are both about six meters high, though inside larger structures. The site will be surrounded with cherry trees.
A panel of scholars chose the engraved quotations from speeches and writings by King. One reads: "We shall overcome because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice."
Sunday's dedication ceremony will mark the 48th anniversary of the March on Washington and King's famous "I Have a Dream" speech. President Barack Obama, the first black US president, is scheduled to speak at the dedication.
Lei said he wanted the memorial to be a visual representation of the ideals King spoke of in his "I Have a Dream" speech.
"His dream is universal. It is a dream of equality," Lei said through his son, who translated from Mandarin. "He went to jail. He had been beaten, and he sacrificed his life for his dream. And now his dream comes true."
The sculpture depicts King with a stern expression , wearing a jacket and tie, his arms folded and clutching papers in his left hand.
Lei said "you can see the hope" in King's face, but his serious demeanor also indicates "he is thinking."
The site of the monument in Washington was opened without fanfare to begin a week of celebrations ahead of Sunday's official dedication.
Lei Yixin's memorial is on the National Mall between memorials honoring presidents Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson. It includes a nine-meter sculpture of King and a 137-meter-long granite wall inscribed with 14 quotations from his speeches.
The size of the sculpture of King sets it apart from statues of Jefferson and Lincoln, which are both about six meters high, though inside larger structures. The site will be surrounded with cherry trees.
A panel of scholars chose the engraved quotations from speeches and writings by King. One reads: "We shall overcome because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice."
Sunday's dedication ceremony will mark the 48th anniversary of the March on Washington and King's famous "I Have a Dream" speech. President Barack Obama, the first black US president, is scheduled to speak at the dedication.
Lei said he wanted the memorial to be a visual representation of the ideals King spoke of in his "I Have a Dream" speech.
"His dream is universal. It is a dream of equality," Lei said through his son, who translated from Mandarin. "He went to jail. He had been beaten, and he sacrificed his life for his dream. And now his dream comes true."
The sculpture depicts King with a stern expression , wearing a jacket and tie, his arms folded and clutching papers in his left hand.
Lei said "you can see the hope" in King's face, but his serious demeanor also indicates "he is thinking."
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