"Equally miraculous is Martin Luther King Jr. Black America’s righteous revolt against a century of post-emancipation oppression could have gone in many bitter and destructive directions. It did not. This was largely the work of one man’s leadership, moral imagination and strategic genius. He turned his own deeply Christian belief that “unearned suffering is redemptive” into a creed of nonviolence that he carved into America’s political consciousness. The result was not just racial liberation but national redemption."
....
"And yet, however much one wishes for a more balanced representation of King’s own creed, there is no denying the power of this memorial. You must experience it. In the heart of the nation’s capital, King now literally takes his place in the American pantheon, the only non-president to be so honored. As of Aug. 22, 2011, there is no room for anyone more on the shores of the Tidal Basin. This is as it should be."
Sculptor Lei Yixin
Jesse Jackson Rains on MLK Celebration With Attack on Tea Party "The memorial is intended to be “an inspiration for all people, for all time,”said Harry E. Johnson, president and CEO of the MLK Memorial Foundation. But in the wake of divisive remarks by Jackson and others, many Tea Party members feel their participation in the memorial’s dedication is unwelcomed." (Emphasis added)
It is well to remember the Vietnam Wall was once described as nothing but "an ugly black gash".