A Stone Of Hope
Fifteen years after a Congressional Joint Resolution in 1996 to establish a memorial in Washington, D.C. to honor King, the four-acre site on the Tidal Basin between the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials opened to the public for the first time. “From a geometrical standpoint it’s on a direct line between the Lincoln Memorial and Jefferson Memorial,” said Bill Line, spokesman for the National Park Service. “The brains and essence of our country (Thomas Jefferson), and Abe Lincoln, the greater uniter.” Visitors will walk through two massive white granite halves of the “Mountain of Despair” to reach the “Stone of Hope,” from which the sculpture of King emerges.
The winning design from an international contest was inspired by the line from King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, “Out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope.” Behind King’s sculpture, on either side of the mountain, is a 450-foot-long wall inscribed with 14 quotations from the famous orator’s speeches, sermons, and writings. King faces Jefferson wearing clothes that fade into the granite above his feet. His arms are folded, with one hand holding his rolled-up Dream speech, according to sculptor Master Lei Yixin, who is a Chinese citizen.
“Dr. King’s vision is still living, in our minds; we still miss him, we still need him,” said Yixin through a translator, calling the sculpture the most important of his life, technically and emotionally. “I am trying to present Dr. King as ready to step out ... this is King’s spirit, to judge people from their character, not race, color or background.” Yixin and a team carved and assembled the stone and mountain from 159 blocks of Atlantic Green granite and Kenoran Sage granite from North America,
as well as granite from Asia.
Chinese sculptor Lei Yixin is the sculptor of the 30-foot likeness of King. He was selected for the work after monument organizers saw him working in St. Paul five years ago and decided he was the guy for the job. Because of St. Paul’s role, a contingent of Minnesotans will be on hand in D.C. Sunday for the big day, which comes on the 48th anniversary of King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. The $120 million monument — which has had its share of controversy, some of it involving Yixin — sits on a 4-acre site on the mall near the Capitol. Planning began in 1996, when the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, to which King belonged, was given permission to build a memorial to the late civil rights leader in the nation’s capital. It took years for the organizers to come up with a vision for the memorial — and with the money. Selection of a sculptor, too, took years, and the lengthy quest to find an artist finally brought them to St. Paul.
“Dr. King’s vision is still living, in our minds; we still miss him, we still need him,” said Yixin through a translator, calling the sculpture the most important of his life, technically and emotionally. “I am trying to present Dr. King as ready to step out ... this is King’s spirit, to judge people from their character, not race, color or background.” Yixin and a team carved and assembled the stone and mountain from 159 blocks of Atlantic Green granite and Kenoran Sage granite from North America, as well as granite from Asia.
