The Martin Luther King Memorial was dedicated October 16, 2011. The statue of Dr. King is embedded in what is called the Stone of Hope. The statue of Dr. King weighs 1600 metric tons of granite. The phase Stone of Hope comes from Dr.King’s speech “I have a Dream.” The three larger structures in the memorial are called “The Mountain of Despair and the Stone of Hope. The statue was not originally part of the memorial. The color of the statue blends in with the rest of the memorial. the statue was sculptures by Lei Yixin from China. The granite for the memorial also comes from China.
The Inscription Wall is 450 foot crescent wall. The wall has 14 quotes starting in 1955 to 1968. The quotes are divided into sermons and speeches. The memorial reflexes the four fundamental messages of Dr. King, love, hope, democracy and justice.
The memorial cost $120 million dollars.the memorial rest on 4 acres of land surrounded by 185 Yoshino Cherry blossom trees. The address of the memorial is 1964 Independence Ave. The address is symbolic of the Voting Rights Bill of 1964.
