What's Going On? ~ MLK, Jr. Memorial Dedication Chaos

September 8, 2011 ~ I just finished reading an article in the Wave newspaper regarding the quote that was placed on the memorial honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I have been following this story for the past week, since the initial delay due to hurricane Irene. Part of the problem is that it is not an actual quote of Dr. King's, but a paraphrase from a 1968 sermon given at Ebenezer Church. This was the last sermon he gave the congregation before he was so brutally assassinated.

 

I encourage you to listen to the sermon in its entirety and let his words help you decide if you believe he has been properly recognized with regard to the drum major quote quote on his memorial.

 

Excerpts from King's Speech given on 02/04/1968 at Ebenezer Baptist Church, Atlanta, GA:

"If any of you are around when I have to meet my day, I don't want a long funeral. And if you get somebody to deliver the eulogy, tell them not to talk too long. Every now and then I wonder what I want them to say. Tell them not to mention that I have a Nobel Peace Prize, that isn't important. Tell them not to mention that I have three or four hundred other awards, that's not important. Tell him not to mention where I went to school.
I'd like somebody to mention that day, that Martin Luther King, Jr., tried to give his life serving others. I'd like for somebody to say that day, that Martin Luther King, Jr., tried to love somebody. I want you to say that day, that I tried to be right on the war question. I want you to be able to say that day that I did try to feed the hungry. I want you to be able to say that day that I did try in my life to clothe those who were naked. I want you to say, on that day, that I did try, in my life, to visit those who were in prison. I want you to say that I tried to love and serve humanity.
 
Yes, if you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice; say that I was a drum major for peace; I was a drum major for righteousness. And all of the other shallow things will not matter. I won't have any money to leave behind. I won't have the fine and luxurious things of life to leave behind. But I just want to leave a committed life behind. And that's all I want to say."


Words on the National Memorial in D.C. honoring Dr. King

“I was a drum major for justice, peace, and righteousness.”

As you can clearly see on the video above, King did not want to toot his own horn. He didn't want people to remember him for pounding his chest and bragging. The words on King's memorial, are merely a portion of the overall idea, and easily misunderstood, if taken out of context. In other words, to fully understand those few words, and the meaning Dr. King expressed to the audience at the time, one must listen to the full sermon, or at least the part leading up to statement "paraphrased" on the memorial.

I am wondering now, if the continued delay to the official dedication of the memorial has anything to do with this disagreement on how the quote was paraphrased. The website for the memorial says the official dedication will be in September or October, but the memorial itself is open for viewing. As Marvin would say, "What's Going On?"