WASHINGTON -- Scores of Atlanta residents joined thousands who lined the National Mall on Sunday to honor a man who stood only 5-feet-7-inches in life but whose legacy will be memorialized among the nation's giants in a 30-foot tall monument of granite.
Many arrived before daybreak, carrying chairs and bundled in coats and blankets against the morning chill, to experience firsthand the long-awaited dedication ceremony for the monument honoring one of the nation's most notable leaders and Atlanta's native son.
The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial was officially dedicated Sunday with elaborate pageantry that included inspiring speeches, soul-stirring singing and appearances from his family, his civil rights contemporaries and the nation's president, a black man.
“I teared up today, I couldn’t help it,” said U.S. Rep. John Lewis of Atlanta, who worked with King during the civil rights movement. Lewis is part of a steadily dwindling select group of civil rights icons with first-person accounts of their work alongside King during the oftentimes dangerous struggle for equal rights. Of the speakers at 1963's March on Washington, Lewis is is the only one still around. “To know that America is a better place and we are a better people for what he did and what he said is overwhelming. Dr. King’s legacy is known worldwide and his likeness on the [National Mall] will inspire people for generations to come," he said.
The ceremony comes almost two months after the original scheduled event, which was postponed due to Hurricane Irene. About 50,000 people were expected to attend the dedication Sunday, down from the 250,000 expected for the August event, but the festivities were no less impressive.
“I am awe-inspired at the amount of collaboration between all walks of life, and to see that the dream is not dead,” said Van VanSlyke, who came from Atlanta for the dedication. “I saw people crying; I saw joy, excitement, motivation in the young, the old, it didn’t matter. We were all motivated.”
The memorial , the first on the National Mall honoring a black leader, includes a 30-foot tall statue of King, with his arms folded and emerging from a rock of granite looking out over the Tidal Basin , along with walls of granite engraved with quotes from several of his speeches. King’s memorial sits between memorials for Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson and is intended to form a "line of leadership" between the president who saved the union and the president who authored the Declaration of Independence.
“Here is Martin Luther King Jr., perfectly positioned between the 150-year old philosophies calling upon all of us to achieve a higher dignity and a higher calling, not only as a people, but as a nation and as a world," said U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. “There is no higher tribute that could be paid to a son of this nation than the tribute that is being paid on this occasion.”
The almost four-hour ceremony featured a bevy of leaders including from Jesse Jackson Sr. and the Rev. Joseph Lowery, to members of Congress and celebrities like actor Chris Tucker and NBA legend Bill Russell, mixed with tributes from Stevie Wonder, who led the crowd in his famous "Happy Birthday" song written for the King holiday, and Aretha Franklin, who belted out one of King's favorite spirituals, "Take My Hand, Precious Lord."
While he always felt King would be pleased with the racial achievements the country has made, King wouldn’t say nirvana had come, said King contemporary Julian Bond.
King’s daughter, Bernice, used part of her remarks to thank her mother, Coretta, for her dedication and sacrifice in raising four children after her husband’s death, along with furthering King’s dream and pushing for his birthday to be designated a national holiday.
The rescheduled dedication ceremony, originally scheduled to coincide with the 48th anniversary of the March on Washington in August, took place Sunday on the 16th anniversary of the Million Man March. Sunday’s was also held against a backdrop of the now international Occupy protests, sluggish economy and an overwhelming dissatisfaction that many Americans currently have with the nation’s leadership.
The monument honors his father’s work and leadership, which is evident in the Occupy protests, said Martin Luther King III.
“But the conditions in our nation and the world are also inspiring the movement and it’s wonderful to see our young people engaged in social activism,” he said.
While there are some parallels between the current protests and those of King’s era, the civil rights movement was focused and had a clear goal and objective, said Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed.
“I believe that civil disobedience and protest is an appropriate form of expression,” he said, “and we’ve tried to be sensitive to that in Atlanta as long as it remains thoughtful, organized and nonviolent.”
With some of the lowest approval ratings of his presidency plaguing him, President Obama was warmly received by the large crowds that erupted into applause when he took the stage, and several times during his remarks. The president urged the crowd to work toward rebuilding the economy, fixing schools, ensuring an affordable and accessible healthcare system, and having an equitable economic system.
When met with hardship, King “refused to accept what he called the ‘is-ness’ of today. He kept pushing towards the ‘ought-ness’ of tomorrow.”
And although his name wasn’t spoken, convicted murderer Troy Davis of Atlanta, who was put to death last month, was referred to in the comments of speakers like Al Sharpton, who lamented a justice system that can execute someone despite “recanted testimonies.”
Perhaps the most fitting tribute to King came after the pomp and circumstance, when standing with her mother and extended family, King's granddaughter Yolanda Renee, 3, playing just a few feet from her father Martin III, sang in a soft voice, “We shall overcome someday.”
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