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CBS/ January 17, 2011, 11:22 AM

Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial: First-Hand Look

CNET Road Trip 2012 will explore much of California, including military bases, movie studios, aquariums, NASA flight centers, and much more. And the Hollywood sign, of course.

CNET Road Trip 2012 will explore much of California, including military bases, movie studios, aquariums, NASA flight centers, and much more. And the Hollywood sign, of course. / James Martin/CNET

WASHINGTON -- It has been more than 42 years since the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was gunned down at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis.

The Martin Luther King Memorial is slated to open this August on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

The $120 million dollar project, more than 20 years in the making, will feature a 28 foot statue of the slain civil rights leader, as well as granite stones with 15 of his most famous quotes.

The memorial will be between the Jefferson and Lincoln memorials.

NO non-president has been so honored on the mall.

CBS News correspondent Russ Mitchell was given unprecedented access to the memorial, which is almost three-quarters complete.

Harry Johnson, president and CEO of the MLK Memorial Foundation, showed Mitchell around:


http://www.mlkmemorial.org/
Copyright 2011 CBS. All rights reserved.
6 Comments Add a Comment
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ReckonedTruth says:
Let the racism begin .. which doesn't mean ANYTHING at the end of the day. Dr. King's memorial is built thru the efforts of the contributing founding sponsors .. which speak volumes .. volume that's LOUDER than any racist degenerate comment ever spoken or written against Dr. King. Furthermore, how many US Presidents and/or congressman had affairs on their wives? What disease killed President Washington? How many illegitimate children did President Jefferson have as a married President? The list is endless if anyone wants to play the moral compass card in comparison. Again, attempting to delegitmize Dr. King's legacy is transparent ignorance undisputed.
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myth1958 says:
As is obvious from this blog (or anything related to MLK or President Obama), racism still lurks in the creepy corners of the American soul. It will be generations before such ugliness is even abated - much less rid from the scene. Those whose comments are filled with hate will not have any change of heart, display the least bit of open-mindedness or acknowledge the injustices of the past with honesty. Dr Martin Luther King Jr. was many things to many people but for the nation as a whole, his legacy - and statue on the Washington Mall - will outlive us all. Thank you, Dr. King, for standing up to the powers that be on behalf of the oft-repeated but equally ignored precept that all men (I would add women, too) are created equal. We needed to be reminded.
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catmomtx replies:
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Excellent comment. Thank you.
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pragmatist1 says:
It's still shameful that it took our nation nearly sixty years to build a Memorial honoring WWII Veterans who died and served during this tragedy.
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porcine_aviator says:
Non-violence as a means to anything is a liberal fantasy.

If you want change, you either do it through economic or violent means.

Non-violent protest is only a way of getting your head beat in by a thug. None of the evil-doers care about your opinion. Either you kill the evil people, or you strip them of their ability to earn a living, it's just that simple.

MLK was lionized by the New World Order crowd because they'd love all the serfs to believe that the way to solve problems is to prostrate themselves in front of their masters and plead for mercy. What absolute rubbish.

What did Gandhi accomplish? Nothing, other than the breakup of India (how's Pakistan doing these days? Oh that's right, Osama Bin Laden lives there, what a great place!). What did Ghandi's crew (Nehru, Indira G., Rajiv G., etc.) of acolytes accomplish? Nothing, other than starving their country and aligning it with Communists that nearly destroyed them. Of course, that's not what you'll see in all the movies financed by the New World Order folks, no sir, Gandhi wasa diaper-wearing genius accoridng to them. What a stupid joke!

MLK may have sacrificed all his life, but he didn't win a single battle. If it weren't for the Kennedy boys and LBJ, the South would still be segregated. The South was desegregated BY FORCE.
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symmylynn says:
im looking forward to this memorial. :)
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