KING IS OURS PETITION (WHAT SIDE OF HISTORY WILL YOU BE ON?) - Forum

Date: Aug 24, 2011

RE: KING IS OURS PETITION (WHAT SIDE OF HISTORY WILL YOU BE ON?)

Date: Dec 17, 2007

Michael Vick: The Color Of Anger. . .

A lot of people are angry at Michael Vick about that dog thing. Kind of like they're mad at O.J. about the wife thing. Barry Bonds and steroid, along with Isaiah Washington and slurs. There's so much to be mad at, but the color of rage remains the same.

http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/247282

Date: Nov 13, 2007

Hello. This is my first time on this forum. Have you seen/read the following statement from the Harry Johnson, President of the MLK, Jr. National Memorial Foundation ? I don't know who's telling the truth after reading the info below.

barbara p

*********** By HARRY E. JOHNSON Published on: 08/28/07

Ten years ago, the National Memorial Project Foundation set out to build a lasting memorial on the National Mall in Washington to honor Dr. Martin Luther King's contributions to the world community through non-violent social change. The four-acre memorial will be a lasting tribute to the ideals of hope, democracy, justice and love for which King stood.

We are extremely pleased with the support from citizens, foundations and corporations to help build this memorial. To date, we have raised $82 million out of the $100 million needed. Thirty-five corporations have donated $1 million or more to help make this dream become a reality.

But ironically, as we enter the final stretch, a few individuals have waged a baseless campaign against the foundation, fueled by unsubstantiated, misleading claims that are untrue. It is imperative that the foundation formally brings to an end this pattern of misinformation.

To start, the foundation has been criticized for including a Chinese sculptor, Lei Yixin, as part of the sculpting team for one portion of the Memorial. In reality, there is a team of individuals working on this and every aspect of the design-build effort. Two African-American artists, Jon Lockard and Ed Hamilton, are working with Lei on the "Stone of Hope" to ensure accuracy of King's image. Additionally, oversight for the construction and design phases will be led by an African-American, female-owned architectural firm, McKissack & McKissack.

Those critical of Lei's involvement have further marred his selection by falsely accusing the foundation of soliciting a contribution from the Chinese government. Any attempt to use King's memorial as a political chess piece and appeal to a mounting "anti-China" sentiment is both inept and disingenuous.

Let me be clear â the foundation has not received a penny from the Chinese government. Lei was chosen after the foundation's Design Committee conducted a national and international search for an expert sculptor who had the proven experience to carve large-scale projects in granite. After all, the portion of the Memorial on which Lei, Lockard and Hamilton are collaborating, will stand nearly three stories high.

King asked that individuals be judged by the content of their character â in this case, artistic character â not the color of their skin, religion, ethnicity or nationality. Wouldn't we be going against everything that King stood for if we selected a sculptor based solely on the color of his/her skin or country of origin?

Another criticism involves the duration of the project's construction. The project remains well within the parameters established by the foundation. We have been involved in the planning, design and fund-raising for a period of 10 years and construction will begin by the end of 2007.

In comparison, planning and design of the National World War II Memorial took 11 years and three years for construction.

At this juncture, the foundation must remain focused on the prize â to build a national treasure celebrating the life and legacy of King. And, for us, the journey is far from over. We need to raise an additional $18 million. So we are calling on citizens around the world to become involved in the project.

Our next big fund-raising effort, "The Dream Concert," will be held Sept. 18 at RadioCityMusic Hall. It, too, includes diverse participants such as Tommy Hilfiger, Russell Simmons, Quincy Jones, Joel Horowitz, David Stern and Edgar Bronfman Jr., GarthBrooks, Carlos Santana, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Joss Stone and Robin Thicke.

At the foundation, we believe that there is room at the table for everyone. Ultimately, we strive to embody the spirit of King and his words, "If we are to have peace on earth, our loyalties must become ecumenical rather than sectional. Our loyalties must transcend race, our tribe, our class, and our nation; and this means we must develop a world perspective."

Harry E. Johnson is president and CEO and the Washington, D.C., Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation Inc.

Date: Aug 23, 2007

KING IS OURS
There is a time to talk and a time to take action
It's time to take Action Now

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/petition/131480161

The planned monument to our beloved Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. has been awarded to an artist from a country with a reprehensible history of civil rights violations against its people. No one in the USA was even allowed to bid on this project before it was outsourced directly to China. The granite to be used for King's sculpture will be quarried using slave labor--Chinese workers are not even provided proper masks to protect their lungs from the silica dust. They die in droves because the Chinese government considers them just as important as the students who protested in Tiananmen Square. The world watched the tanks roll over them. No human rights, No civil rights, and yet the honor of sculpting Dr. Martin Luther King? Not on our watch!

King is OUR national treasure. We will not have an artist famous for his statues of the mass murderer Mao Tse Tung, and tool of a government that labeled King a "reactionary running dog," sculpting the King monument. Would we allow an artist famous for his statues of Hitler to sculpt Anne Frank? Combine these facts with another: There is not ONE national monument to a leader of any country anywhere on this planet with the name of an African American artist on its base.

We protest. And we demand the right to interpret and present our own historic proclamation in this first ever national monument to an African American man. Sign Our Petition & Join us!

African American Artist & American Granite