Opportunities to do good are lost every day. Either through apathy, stupidity, or unfortunately sometimes, bad intentions, situations where good can be done are not only lost, but are replaced with something that is detrimental to society.
The Martin Luther King, Jr., Monument in Washington’s National Mall is just such an example. The series of events that brought “this version” of the depiction of the famous civil rights activist to “this location” shows the world just how out of line the culture of our country has now become.
First, the King monument is placed in the National Mall, a location specifically designated for U.S. Presidents and fallen soldiers. There is a strong argument to be made that the sculpture of the civil rights icon would be better placed in a different location. However, this argument pales in comparison to the residual implications derived from who actually created the monument and how King is portrayed in stone.
As reported by John Hayward in Human Events, in oddly bizarre fashion, the King monument was not commissioned for creation by Americans, but was rather given to the 57-year-old Chinese Communist, Lei Yixin. Yixin who is known among other things for his stone depictions of the Communist Chairman Mao Tse-tung. He thus created a depiction of King that some would say runs counter to a true reflection of the man and what he stood for. Martin Luther King Jr. looks decidedly Asian. The civil rights leader, who was known for both kindness and compassion, is reflected in stone by Yixin having a stern look on his face and with arms folded as if he is in opposition to those who view him. In the stone statue King also grips an unknown document with force, and one can only guess if the artist meant the document to be one with biblical scripture, the constitution, or one of Mao’s many versions of the “Little Red Book.”
Some have asserted that the carving of this statue should have been commissioned to a black artisan; however, I think that King would have preferred to look at quality of character, and artistic ability, over color of skin. With that observation in mind, it is still hard to fathom that King would have wished that his memorial depiction to be created to exhibit a Communist mentality, certainly void of the Christian values he championed. The “angry Asian, the Communist Martin Luther King, Jr.” monument also includes inscriptions of many of King’s famous quotes, but minus his famous “I have a dream,” apparently, purposely omitted. This lack is almost fitting as little of King’s true Christian nature is on display.
The final note, in what has become a sad story, is that it appears that the King monument was never intended to be designed for posterity, but rather for family profit. As reported in the New York Post, the Martin Luther King, Jr., family charged to the foundation that built the monument $800,000 to use King’s words and image. This King family money scheme further removes the appropriateness of the Martin Luther King Jr. memorial being placed alongside distinguished U.S. Presidents and fallen soldiers whose families never asked, nor received any residuals for the honor of being memorialized. Sadly, there are now no redeemable qualities to retrieve from exhibiting a King memorial in Washington, as both Communism and family greed have instead simply created an anathema of a monument now placed in the National Mall.
Martin Luther King, Jr.’s life deserves a more honorable and precise legacy than what is depicted in the new Washington memorial. It is said that the reported inspiration for the piece came from King’s “I have a dream” speech in which the civil rights leader stated, “Out of a mountain of despair, a stone of hope.” Instead of a noble transformation, people in the National Mall will now view a Marxian mountain that is too arrogant and more fitting to a Communist bloc than to the powerful role Martin Luther King Jr. played in a movement for equality gained through passive resistance and the power of prayer. Opportunities to do good are lost every day, but some are more painful to watch than others.
Dr. Paul A. Ibbetson is a former Chief of Police of Cherryvale, Kansas, and member of the Montgomery County Drug Task Force. Paul received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Criminal Justice at Wichita State University, and his PhD. in sociology at Kansas State University. Paul is the author of several books and is also the radio host of the Kansas Broadcasting Association’s 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011 award winning, Conscience of Kansas airing across the state.
