To honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a memorial in the nation’s capital will finally be erected next year. The Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial will be the first of its kind in Washington, D.C.’s National Mall honoring an African American and someone who was not a president. “This is a memorial for the people; for everyone who ever benefited from what King has done,” says Harry Johnson, president and CEO of the King Memorial Foundation.
The $100 million project has drawn more than 70 financial supporters, including the Walt Disney Co. and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, which alone donated $2.4 million. More than two — thirds of the money needed to complete and maintain the memorial, $74 million, has already been raised, according to Rod Gillum, chairman of the King Memorial Foundation and vice president of corporate responsibility and diversity at General Motors.
For more information on the memorial, visit www.mlkmemorial.org.