Drawing on its location at the edge of the Tidal Basin, water is used as an essential element that builds on King's words and recalls most powerfully the theme of justice. The water appears only on either side of the main entry, not even visible until one has entered the memorial plaza. It is the sound of water “rolling down” that will draw a visitor’s attention. From this life-giving source, Dr. King’s message begins stretching away from the entrance, at once welcoming and yet daring the visitor to follow.
Trees
Along the Tidal Basin, Yoshino cherry blossom trees have thrived since 1912 – a gift from Japan as a sign of peace and unity. For only two weeks each spring, their tiny blossoms surround the Basin in a cloud of delicate pink and white. Spring resonates with the spirit of hope, rebirth and renewal; the King Memorial has added 182 cherry blossoms to the Tidal Basin’s collection. Poetically, each year the peak blooming period for the trees coincides with the anniversary of Dr. King’s assassination, April 4th.
To prolong the message of renewed hope embodied by the cherry trees, crape myrtles have also been planted in the memorial. Crape myrtles bloom throughout the summer months and into the fall, prolonging the burst of color and encouraging a sense of endurance and faith.
Along West Basin Drive and Independence Avenue 31 American elm trees have been planted, not only as the standard street tree of Washington, DC, but also as a border surrounding the memorial, embracing Dr. King as an American icon...READ MORE
Former U.S. Poet Laureate Rita Dove on MLK: 'We Need to Remain Vigilant'
ReplyDelete"In hindsight, we know that many people, black and white, were instrumental in changing the Jim Crow status quo on all levels. Around the time when I was born in 1952, my own father had been able to push beyond what had been possible before, when he became the first African-American research chemist in the rubber-and-tire industry. No doubt, Martin Luther King galvanized forces against racism in the South and with his unique charisma and non-violent credo rose to such national and international prominence that he became the voice and face of both protest and progress. I was about to enter my teenage years when he received the Nobel Peace Prize, and I remember a huge feeling of pride that a black man, one of us, was honored with what we had learned in school was the most important award in the world.
But by that time, and in no small part thanks to my father’s tenacity in fulfilling his own dream against many odds—not to mention the increasing educational opportunities in much of the North—I had already begun to imagine I could reach the lofty goals I dared to set for myself in spite of my race."
Is there a song that for you evokes King’s legacy, or the civil-rights movement?
"I always loved the most obvious and famous one: “We Shall Overcome." "