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A place has been prepared for a monument to the Rev Martin Luther King jnr on the most hallowed ground in America. But the nature of that memorial is causing a dispute that threatens to sully the memory of a man renowned for his intent to unite people.
The rumpus is over the ethnicity of the sculptor. A Chinese has been chosen to carve a monument three storeys high on the National Mall in Washington, where it will be placed between the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials. But a growing group of critics is demanding that a black sculptor, or at least an American, should have been chosen. The protesters have been joined by human rights advocates who say King would have abhorred the Chinese Government's record on religious and civil liberties.
Gilbert Young, a black painter from Atlanta who has launched a website and a petition to try to change the project, said: "I believe that black artists have the right to interpret ourselves first. If nobody steps up to the plate to do that, then certainly pass it along to someone else."
The memorial foundation directing the project seems surprised at the criticism. Ten of the 12 people on the committee that chose the sculptor, Lei Yixin, are black. Lei is working closely on the design with two black sculptors and the overall project is being directed by a black-owned architectural firm. Ann Lao, a Chinese living in Los Angeles, said the granite used for the statue was likely to be mined by Chinese workers labouring in unsafe and unfair conditions.
Lao, Young and others plan to present their online petition to legislators in Washington next month to force the foundation to reconsider the project.
The monument is scheduled to be completed in 2009. It was 44 years ago tomorrow that King delivered his "I have a dream ... " speech.
- Independent
