Politics & Government

Great Escape: MLK Memorial Set to Open

Appearances by President Barack Obama, Aretha Franklin and Jamie Foxx part of week-long events.

Fifteen years in the making, the Martin Luther King, Jr memorial is set to open to the public next week to honor the great Civil Rights activist.

Starting this Monday, the memorial will be open to the public followed by a week long schedule of events leading up to the official opening on Sunday the 28th, which marks the 48th anniversary of King's "I Have a Dream" speech at the Lincoln Memorial.

The $120 million dollar memorial is located at 1964 Independence Avenue in D.C. along the Tidal Basin and its purpose is to honor the 1964 Civil Rights Act in which King played a major role.

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The 'soft' opening will begin at 8 a.m. Monday morning and was originally only going to be for D.C. residents with approved tickets. But there was so much interest that D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray announced that no tickets will be required and that anyone may attend.

The official opening ceremony will be held Sunday the 28th and will feature a speech by President Barack Obama, celebrity appearances by Jamie Foxx, Maya Angelou, Stevie Wonder and George Lucas. Attendees can also expect a performance by Aretha Franklin who use to sing in church for King back in the 60's.

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Franklin will be performing the very same song that King would request: "Take my Hand, Precious Lord."

Who designed the memorial?

Over 900 applicants from 52 countries put in their bid and design ideas, but it was San Francisco based ROMA Design Group that was awarded the opportunity to construct the 4-acre large memorial.

Overlooking the still waters of the Tidal Basin where Yoshino cherry blossom trees have been since the early 1900's,  ROMA decided to add an additional 182 Cherry trees inside the plot. The bright, vibrant blossoms will be in peak bloom each year to coincide with the April 4th death of King.

Visitor's will pass through two large stones and enter a plaza to the 'Stone of Hope' where a super-size sculpture of King has been created. The series of stones represents words from a 1963 speech in which King stated, "out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope".

The plaza is surrounded by the 'Inscription Wall", a crescent shaped 450-foot long granite wall with 14 of King's most famous speeches.

The memorial is expected to attract hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the globe.  Check out the official memorial website for a list of scheduled events. 

To really enjoy your time at the memorial next week be sure to plan ahead and take the Metro.


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